Seconds Pass
by ducttapeandladybugsandboredom
Summary: Fifteen year old Alex Mercer is the only sister in the family and her four brothers aren't planning to let her get through life the easy way. Like her brothers, Alex is very opinionated, stubborn and sarcastic so she ends up in some interesting situations
1. Trust Issues

I slid my window closed and flopped on my bed just in time to hear someone banging outside my bedroom door. My locked door burst open, wood chips flying everywhere, leaving a very angry looking Bobby standing in my doorway.

"You're going to replace that." I stated, nonchalantly.

"What is this?" He asked, ignoring my statement.

I glanced up. "That's a beer bottle." I said, referring to the object in his hand.

"Cut the smart talk, Missy! I mean whose is it?" He was mad.

"It's not mine." I said, truthfully.

"Then whose is it? You were the only one home today, Alex. I even asked everyone else. Explain, now" His hand was curled into a fist.

"Bobby, I don't know!" I lied.

"You want me to get everyone else involved? Then we could really get some answers out of you." He threatened.

"Bobby, I don't drink, you know that." I pleaded.

He yanked me off my bed. "Talk." He ordered.

"There's nothing else to say!" I said, pulling away from him.

"Well, Jack, Angel and Jerry are out and because you have school tomorrow I'll leave you alone, but unless you give me some information you won't be leaving this house other than school until Ma gets home." He said, turning away from me.

"Bobby, Ma won't be home for a week! That's so unfair!" I yelled after him.

"Life's unfair, Princess." He laughed before walking down the stairs.

I groaned. Bobby was mad and more than that, he didn't believe me. It wasn't my beer bottle. Bobby would kill me if he found out what had really happened that day, he would kill me.

I walked out of my room and opened the closet beside the bathroom. On the third shelf was a tool box, from inside I took out a screwdriver and began removing the door. I heard the door downstairs slam, somebody was home. Great, just what I need. I thought, bitterly.

"She's 15 for crying out loud!" Bobby yelled to whichever one of my other brothers that had just got home.

This couldn't end well. I put my headphones in and blasted my music.

_"I'm tired of waking up at 5AM,_

_My boss has lost his freaking mind again._

_I'm getting so sick of the same routine,_

_And living out somebody else's dream._

_Another zombie coming back to life,_

_Only 20 but I'm feeling like I'm 45,_

_Better burn out than fade away,_

_So come and have a drink on me, _

_On me, on me!"_ Young by Hedley played loudly.

A hand reached over and pulled out my headphones.

"What are you doing?" Angel's voice came from behind me.

I shut off my music, "Replacing my door because Bobby's a jerk." I answered.

"Bobby says you've been drinking?" He asked.

The relaxed tone in his voice made me turn around and look at him, "I haven't, Angel. I promise."

He nodded but didn't seem overly convinced. "Want help with the door?"

"I'm fine, Angel." My voice was hard, I was getting frustrated.

He knelt down and helped me anyway. When the door was attached I went and sat down on my bed, shutting my eyes.

"You look tired so we'll deal with this tomorrow when you get home from school. But I'd suggest you explain to Bobby where that beer bottle came from." Angel said as he leaned against my doorway.

"Thanks, Angel." I mumbled.

"Night, Kiddo." He smiled and shut my door.

When I knew he was in his room I pulled my switchblade out from under my pillow. I opened it and stared at the blade. My brothers would kill me if they knew I had it, with exception of possibly Jerry. Jerry wasn't the violent type, but he would be mad, he would be disappointed in me. I couldn't deal with that. When he came home Bobby would tell him I'd been drinking, Bobby would tell him what he thought happened but he would say it as though he knew that he was right. Bobby wasn't right, he was terribly wrong. I wish I could have told him the truth but there was no way that would go over any better. It was easier just to have him think I was drinking, wasn't it? Jerry would be so disappointed. I couldn't let that happen. I wouldn't let that happen. I felt dizzy; thoughts were spinning through my head. I placed my blade under my pillow before standing up, opening my door and shutting it quietly behind me, I walked down the stairs.

I entered the kitchen and reached on top of the fridge. Trying to stay as quiet as possible I searched for the Advil in the dark room.

Light blinded me.

"What are you doing?" Bobby shouted.

Apparently I hadn't been quiet enough.

"I'm getting Advil, my head is pounding!" I shouted back before thinking.

"No, you're not. Not after you've been drinking you're not!" He continued to shout.

"SHE'S BEEN WHAT?" Jack and Jerry said in unison.

_Of course they'd choose right now to walk in!_ I thought angrily.

"I don't drink, Bobby! I swear to it! I just have a headache!" I pleaded.

"What are you even still doing up, Al? Get up stairs, now!" Jerry ordered.

"Jer, it's only eleven. I'm fifteen. Relax and live a little." I shot.

"Now's not the time to be smart-mouthing me, Missy! NOW GET TO BED." His voice was sheer anger.

I stepped around Bobby, heading upstairs but Bobby grabbed me by the back of my shirt.

"We are settling this now!" He shouted.

I pulled out of Bobby's grip and continued towards the stairs, ignoring him. I slammed my bedroom door, praying that no one would follow me. Of course when you have four brothers, you are never that lucky.

My door opened, revealing a less-than-pleasant looking Jerry.

I opened my mouth to defend myself but Jerry shut me down.

"I don't want to hear it. We'll deal with this tomorrow. Goodnight." He said.

High and mighty Jerry always thinks he's in charge of everyone.

"Goodnight." He repeated, staring at me. "Now, wouldn't be the time to disrespect me, Alexandria."

"Oooh! My whole first name! I'm scared now!" My voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Alex-"Jerry started to lecture me.

"No! You know what; I'm tired of you acting like you're the freaking queen of England! Don't act like you care when something goes wrong if you don't care when something goes right! I don't follow in your footsteps and I'm not perfect! Yeah Jerry, I know, you aren't interested in all the same things as me but hey, you could at least pretend that you care about what's important to me!" I don't know why I was suddenly so mad at Jerry but I was, and I usually got along with him so well.

"Alex-"Jerry started again.

"Get out of my room Jerry!" I yelled.

Jack, who had apparently just heard the whole thing, led Jerry out of my room. When Jerry had shut his door, mumbling angry comments about me, Jack leaned into my room.

"I don't think he'll be bothering you tonight, nicely said!" He laughed.

I just shut my eyes, leaning back against the wall.

"You know, I started drinking when I was about your age, I believe." He explained.

"Jack," I started, trying not to say anything smart; two brothers that wanted my head on a silver platter was enough.

"Yeah, I know, see you in the morning, Lexi." He shot me another smile before shutting my door.

Lexi, been awhile since Jack called me that. I knew what he was doing; he was being nice to me so that I would tell him my side of the story. He must have done something wrong too. He must think if he got the truth out of me he'd be off the hook. He was probably right.

I shut off my light and went to lie in bed. Chances were slim that anyone would come back to bother me now. I sighed. I needed to get some sleep, tomorrow all heck would rise, my brothers seriously had some trust issues.

I closed my eyes, my head pounding and it wasn't long before exhaustion overcame me.


	2. Toothpaste, Axe and Social Studies

**Author's note: **

**Well that was the first chapter. I hope you liked it! I wanted to give you a taste of the story so there it was. I'm going to try and follow the story in sort of a day by day scenario. Let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear from you! So here goes chapter 2! Don't forget to review, good or bad! Enjoy!**

I felt a sudden rush of cold water hit my face. I sat up, opening my eyes to see Angel standing above me, holding a bucket of ice water over my head.

"Get up, you're late." He laughed.

"You're a jerk! You know that, right?" I glared at him.

"I know." He smiled. "If you're not down in 5 I'll be back and I won't be as sparing on the ice this time!" He added before leaving my room.

I groaned, pulling myself out of bed. Just because he would have been capable of sleeping through the British Invasion doesn't mean I was. I glanced at my book bag. Homework… Oops…

I opened my closet door and selected a gray t-shirt. I opened the bottom drawer of my dresser and pulled out a pair of blue jeans. I got dressed quickly, not that I had a choice if Angel was going to come bursting into my room any minute.

When I was dressed in dry clothes I rushed to the bathroom to brush my hair and brush my teeth. I walked right up to the open bathroom door before I noticed who was inside.

I glanced at Jerry, hoping I wouldn't have to talk to him. Maybe he was so drunk last night that he wouldn't remember what I had said. He glanced at me before grabbing my hair brush and tooth brush and whipping both of them at me. I ducked; an instinct you develop when you grow up with four brothers. I looked at him, catching his eyes. The anger in his eyes was worse than I had seen last night. He remembered.

I grabbed my hair brush and tooth brush and went downstairs to get ready in front of the kitchen sink. It never took me very long to get ready; I had never had privacy long enough. Bobby seemed to think grooming was a waste of time. I started brushing my teeth, a weird taste filling my mouth. Axe.

I spit into the sink about ten times before screaming to my second oldest brother, "Jerry, you blockhead! I can't believe you, of all people in this house would be so immature! JERK!"

I took my time brushing my hair, trying to avoid confrontation with Jerry when I went back upstairs. When I was pretty sure he would be done, I walked back upstairs and, thinking about what else Jerry could have done to me, I put my stuff in my room. Once in my room I double checked that everything looked undisturbed and grabbing my backpack and my dark blue sweater I headed back downstairs.

"Where do you think you're going?" Bobby asked when I reached the front door.

"School, numbskull." I answered simply.

"Get in the car." He ordered.

Gosh, you'd think I was in the military for the way they boss me around.

"No, Bobby. I always walk to school, relax!" I pleaded with him; he couldn't drive me to school, not today.

"Get in the car, Alex. I'm not going to tell you again." He said.

"No, Bobby," I started.

With one swift move, Bobby picked me up and threw me over his shoulder.

I screamed, kicking and punching him as hard as I could from my position.

At that moment, Jerry walked down the stairs, obviously laughing at me. "You'll be back right after school. No hanging out with your friends, nothing. As soon as school ends you'll be back here, you understand me? Or does Bobby have to pick you up after school too?" He asked.

"I'll be fine." I said bitterly.

Bobby opened the door and stepped out onto the porch, "Jackie, let's go!" He called before slamming the door.

Bobby threw me into the back of his car and got into the front.

"Did you finish your homework?" Bobby asked me.

"Did you graduate high school?" I shot back.

I actually didn't know the answer to that one, but Bobby wasn't exactly high school material.

"Yeah, as a matter of fact, I did!" He said

"Well, that's a miracle in itself isn't it?" I said, smiling, as Jack got into the passenger's seat of Bobby's car.

Bobby turned around and punched me hard in the arm before starting the car and driving towards mine and Jack's school.

Jack laughed.

I kicked the back of Jack's seat.

"Don't get foot prints all over my leather seats!" Bobby yelled at me.

I rolled my eyes, his car was his baby. If he could save all, Me, Jack, Jeremiah and Angel or save his car, he'd probably pick the car. We pulled up to the school and Jack and I both got out. Jack was only two years older than I was, putting him in grade 11, but chances were good, at the rate he was going, we would probably graduate together.

Bobby waited until Jack and I were both inside the school. Once he knew we were inside he drove away.

Jack looked at me, "You know, me and the guys were going to go talk to some guy about a gig today. Then you had to go get in trouble and make Bobby drive us to school." Jack stated, coldly.

I opened my mouth to speak but he stormed away from me. I shrugged, not too worried about him being mad at me.

As I turned the corner to my locker I pulled my phone out of my pocket. I glanced at the phone. One missed call. I dialed the number by heart.

"Where were you?" The male's voice said through the phone.

"It's a long story." I sighed.

"I waited for you. You were supposed to show up. Do you have any idea how much trouble that could have gotten me into?" He asked, in frustration.

"I'm sorry… I'll tell you later." I apologized.

"Corner of third and Adair, 10:45. Go down the back alley to the left, behind the pizza place. You'll be there?" He stated.

"…Uh… Yeah…" I hesitated.

"Doesn't work for you? Well, my apologies, Master! May I come up with a time that is more suitable to your needs?" He asked in distaste.

"Quite acting like such a jerk." I said. "I'll be there."

"Really? Should I even bother? I mean, after all, that is what you said last time!" He said.

I hung up the phone. He had no right to be mad at me after everything that I had just done for him. Something must have happened to put him in such a bad mood, usually he understood. The school bell rang so I grabbed my binder, shut my locker and shoved my cell phone back in my pocket before heading in the direction of my first period class.

I entered my Social Studies class and sat down beside one of my best friends, Suzanne Taylor.

"You look frustrated." She said, smiling as I sat down.

I laughed and began to recite the phone conversation to her.

When I was done she was laughing.

"Oh, Alex, you never learn." She said.

I rolled my eyes but she was probably right.

"So are you going to meet him today?" She asked.

"10:45, but I'm thinking about not going. Wonder what he'd say!" I whispered.

Suzanne burst out laughing.

"Is that your final answer?" My teacher asked her.

We both stopped laughing and looked around the room, judging by the amused expressions on our classmates' faces, she had likely been talking to us for a while.

"Miss Mercer come sit up here please." She pointed to an empty seat at the front of the class before continuing with her lesson.

"Oh no! You made me change spots! Whatever should I do? I am so sorry Mrs. Bark; I forgot I was in grade 1!" I said sarcastically, picking up my binder.

"Change of plans, Mercer. You can complete the assignment in the principal's office." She said handing me a booklet of paper.

"Are you kidding me?" I asked.

"Do you need me to get you escorted?" She asked, smugly.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed the booklet, "I'll be fine."

I heard a few of my friends laugh and I shook my head, leaving the classroom.

Once in the hallway I pulled out my phone. 13 missed calls. I rolled my eyes and shoved it back in my pocket.

I entered the office and glanced at the clock, 9:50, only ten minutes until the end of class. I sat down in the chair across from the secretary's desk.

"Don't bother, Mercer." The secretary said without glancing up, "The principal will see you now."

I stood up and walked carefully into his office, if I got suspended, I might as well find somewhere else to live until Ma got home.

"Yes Sir?" I asked, trying to keep the sarcasm out of my voice.

"Shut the door and take a seat, Miss Mercer." He said pointing to a chair directly across from him.

I shut the door and sat down, looking at him while trying to maintain a false apologetic expression.

The room was silent for quite a long time before he spoke.

"I hear we had a bit of a problem in your Social Studies class?" He asked.

I refrained from rolling my eyes, "Apparently." I said without expression.

"Hmm and why exactly is that?" He asked.

I shrugged, biting my lip to avoid insulting my teacher.

He nodded distantly.

"Everything ok at home?" He asked, pointing to the bruise that had formed on my left arm thanks to Bobby's punch this morning.

I stared at him, daring him to say more.

When he didn't I answered, "Yeah, you must be an only child and lived in a personal bubble to have never come to school with a bruise."

"Who gave you that bruise, Alexandria?" He asked, more persistently.

"I got into a fight yesterday with one of the boys in my neighborhood." I lied, "Nothing of your concern."

He looked unconvinced.

The phone rang and Mr. Adam, the principal, got up to get it. It was probably best that way, I was frustrated and I probably would have gotten myself in a lot more trouble had I continued talking.

"Excuse me a moment, Alexandria. I must take this call. You can get a start on that homework." He said before walking out of the room.

I flipped through the booklet Mrs. Bark had given me.

_Man, maybe I should have been paying attention._ I thought silently.

It took me about 15 minutes but I finally figured out an intelligent-sounding answer to the first question.

"Now I have one question down, only 116 to go." I mumbled bitterly to myself.

I glanced up at the clock 10:35.

Mr. Adam walked in at that moment.

"Sorry that took so long. How's the homework coming?" He asked.

"Great." I answered quietly.

He glanced over my shoulder at my paper.

"I see." He said, disapprovingly.

I ignored him.

"I can't imagine we will have any more problems with disrespect." He said.

"No Sir." I answered, keeping a straight face.

"Well then, I suppose you are dismissed." He said.

I stood up and grabbed my binder.

"I expect you to have all your homework handed in by tomorrow, as well as a 500 word essay on how disrespect is a bad thing." He added.

"Like that's going to happen." I mumbled, reaching for the door.

"Pardon me, Miss Mercer?" He said with a stern voice.

"Yes Sir." I said and left the room.

I turned the hallway towards my period two classroom, but instead of entering the math class like I should've, I grabbed my stuff from my locker and walked out the back door of the school. I was already late.

**Authors note: **

**Well, there's chapter two, I hope you like it! Chapter 3 should be up right away! Remember to rate and review. I love reviews, good or bad! Can't wait to hear your thoughts!**


	3. 21 Missed Calls, 13 Voice Mail Messages

**Authors note:**

**Hello, all! Glad you seemed to enjoy chapter two and thanks to xXx AJO xXx, HoneyGee08 and Cindybaby for your reviews! For the record, normally I probably won't be updating this often but for once I have a bit of free time so I figured I'd take advantage of that. Anyway, hope you like the next chapter and don't forget to review, good or bad, I just love hearing from you!**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Four Brothers and cannot take credit for it. I do, however, own Alex Mercer.**

A breeze hit my face as I walked out in to the cool morning air. As soon as the door had shut behind me, I began to run in the direction of Third Street. When I was well away from the school I slowed to a normal pace, relaxing. I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket. 21 missed calls. 13 voice mail messages. I sighed but lifted the phone to my ear to listen to the first message, even though I knew they were all from the same person.

"YOU HUNG UP ON ME?" His voice screamed out of my phone.

I kept listening, "That's so unbelievably immature! You are such a…" Delete.

I deleted the next five without even listening to them. I knew they would all consist of the same thing.

I glanced down at my phone; message number seven had been recorded about half an hour after the last six. I sighed but listened to it anyway.

"Alex? Are you there? Did something happen? PICK UP YOUR PHONE!" There almost seemed to be concern in his voice.

My phone rang, causing me to jump.

"He's calling me again?" I asked aloud, even though I was completely alone.

I ignored the call and shoved my cell phone back in my pocket; I was almost at Third and Adair anyway.

I turned into the back alley quietly. It was dark but I could see him standing near a bike rack for one of the businesses. His back was turned to me and he was pacing. When I got to be about twenty feet from him I ducked behind a large, gray garbage bin and picked up a rock from the ground.

I timed my throw perfectly. It the rock landed about 5 inches from his foot and immediately he jumped. His switchblade was out of his back pocket and flipped open in a second as he spun around; walking slowly towards where he figured the rock must have come from.

"Oh relax! It's just me." I said, stepping out from behind the garbage bin but remaining in the shadows.

"Alex?" He asked, relief flooding over his face.

"No moron. It's The Pillsbury Dough Boy!" I laughed and walked towards him.

"What took you so long?" He asked.

"Don't start that again!" I snapped.

He didn't answer.

"If I didn't know better, I'd have thought you were actually worried about me." I said shooting him a smile.

He brushed his dark hair out of his face, "Maybe I was." He answered.

"No snide comments, no sarcastic remarks, you are actually demonstrating some sort of human emotion; Paul are you ok?" I asked turning to him, a wide grin on my face.

Paul Trebek was my best friend in the whole world. I knew everything about him and he knew everything about me…well almost. He had never met my family. I didn't mind if he met Ma, but there was rarely a time when she was home and one of the boys wasn't. I didn't want him to meet any of my brothers, for reasons that I need not name.

He laughed and shoved me, "No, but we'll get to that." He answered before adding, "Are you?"

I looked at him. "No! Of course I'm not ok! You have no idea how much trouble I got into for that beer bottle I gave you!" I rolled my eyes, "They thought I was the one who drank it!"

"I know, Alex, I try to avoid that kind of thing… but yesterday…" His voice trailed off.

"Yeah I know, Paul. I'm not mad at you for that, I would never get mad about something like that. But I can't believe that you were mad at me about not showing up this morning!" I looked at him.

We didn't fight all the time but usually if we did it got pretty bad and there was usually violence involved. This time was definitely on the mild side but there was no way to know that it was going to stay that way.

"I was a little stressed out this morning." He tried to defend himself and looked down.

I scoffed.

"Bobby's going to kill me if I don't tell him the truth today!" I sighed slightly, I wasn't really mad at Paul. I was mad that my brothers hadn't believed me.

Before Paul had a chance to answer someone grabbed me from behind and threw me roughly onto the cement ground.

I blinked, my vision distorted. I tried to see who it was; hoping it wasn't who I thought it was…

**Authors note:**

**Alright, I ended the chapter a little sooner than I thought I would but I'll try and get the next chapter up as soon as possible! I hope you liked it and please review, good or bad. Either way, I can't wait to see what you thought!**

**Ducttapeandladybugsandboredo m**


	4. My Brain Hurts

**Well, here is chapter four! I hope it turns out ok. Thanks to CindyBaby for the review, it really helped encourage me to keep writing! I hope you like the next chapter! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Four Brothers but I do own Alex Mercer.**

I tried to sit up but a hand pushed me back down. I stared up at my attacker. His shaggy golden brown hair fell into his face. His electric blue eyes revealing anger, anger so intense I almost looked away. His skin was pale and his black leather jacket was unzipped.

_Please let this be a dream._ I begged silently.

I wished more than anything that I could go back in time and restart the entire week. If Paul and I hadn't gotten into that situation yesterday, none of this would ever have happened. If only Paul and I were better at staying out of trouble. If only I trusted my brothers enough to tell them what had happened in the first place, not that they ever would have believed me, they would have blamed it on the beer, the beer they thought I drank. I didn't drink. I wouldn't ever drink.

I stared up at the man towering above me, looking into those blue eyes, I knew I was worse than dead and I would have given anything in the world to be anywhere but there. Gosh, even dead would have been better. There wasn't a single person in the whole world that I would have been less happy to see than I was to see him.

"Jack." I stood up, heart pounding.

"Who's this, Alex?" He demanded his voice was so cold I had to fight to keep from flinching, "Is this the person you've been giving beer to? Or do you have some other explanation?"

"Shouldn't you be in school?" I shot at him, trying my best to distract him.

"Shouldn't you?" He narrowed his eyes.

"I have a spare period." I responded without missing a beat.

There was no way Jack knew my schedule; I doubted he even knew his own.

"Oh, really, what period is it?" He asked.

A red flag went off in my head. I didn't know the answer. I was in grade nine so I didn't have a spare period; I never had to worry about what time class ended. I mean, if I was going to skip one class I wasn't going to come back for another one.

"Second." I answered confidently.

"Wrong, second period ended 15 minutes ago."

I didn't know Jack attended school often enough to even know how many periods there were in a day let alone what time they ended.

"Jack, I'll explain everything, just don't tell anyone! Please!" I begged.

Begging wasn't something I would usually do; I was more of a 'fake it 'til you make it' kind of person. Needless to say, I was desperate; lying to one brother was a lot easier than lying to four.

Jack burst out laughing.

Laughing? He was laughing at me? I couldn't believe it.

My anger flared and I stepped towards Jack, "You have no idea what's going on! You have no idea why I don't want anyone to know! You pretend you care but you are just afraid you're going to get in trouble for whatever you spent your morning doing, you think that if you get information out of me then you'll be off the hook! Stick to your music, Jack and stay out of my life and I'll stay out of yours."

I realized my mistake as soon as the words were out of my mouth. Telling Jack that he had no idea what was going on, told him that there was in fact something going on and telling him that he had no idea why I didn't want my other brothers to know, told him that there was a reason. If I had been trying to make things better I couldn't have done a worse job.

There was a dangerous light in Jack's fierce eyes. He stepped towards me threateningly.

"You think you're so tough?" He asked, "You think you know everything and you're the most important one in the world? You're selfish, Alex, selfish and immature. You never think of anyone except yourself!"

He grabbed the front of my shirt and punched me, once, twice, three times; he shoved me to the ground harder than he had before.

My head smacked the pavement. This was much more violent than Jack usually acted with anyone, especially me. I'm not going to say we got along well but he rarely hit me, none of them did overly often unless they were just joking around. Of course Angel and Bobby had both taken a fair amount of swings at me but it was very rare for Jack or Jeremiah to act in violent matters.

Jack opened his mouth to say more but Paul stepped in front of me, blocking me from Jack. This couldn't be good. Jack was skinnier than Paul, though not by a whole lot but Jack was, without a doubt, more than a foot taller than Paul.

"You've got no right to treat her like that! If you want her dead, or whatever, you have to go through me." Paul spoke up.

Paul was so confident, too bad he had no idea what he was up against. Actually, neither did I. I had never seen Jack that mad at me, at anyone.

"Who do you think you are to tell me how to treat my own sister?" Jack demanded.

In any other situation the look on Paul's face would have been priceless but now it was just unnerving. Paul backed up. It was weird, I'd seen Paul take on guys almost three times his size, granted, I'd rarely seen him win such fights, but to my brother he cowered.

Both, Paul and Jack stared at me, deciding an explanation was in order.

As I sat up I could feel a warm liquid dripping down my back.

"Oh, did I forget to introduce you guys? Paul, meet the youngest of my brothers, Jack. Jack, meet Paul, my… Uh… best friend…" I said lamely.

I touched the back of my head. When I looked at my hand my fingers had been transformed from their normal tan colour to a bright red. I sighed and wiped the blood on my jeans, standing up.

"Come on, we're going home." Jack said to me before turning to Paul, "Because you're younger than me and I don't yet know the whole story I will do you a favor and warn you now. Be out of town before I get back here. When we find out who you really are, and we will, you'll be as good as dead." He threatened, grabbing my arm and dragging me forward.

I walked along with my brother. My head was pounding so I didn't make too much effort to pull away. I didn't understand, this was Bobby behavior, not Jack. Jack was usually so quiet and conserved, I mean, I always knew he'd step up if need be, but this? Meanwhile, Bobby was always so hotheaded, loud and obnoxious. Yes, this was definitely more like Bobby behavior.

I pulled my sweater out of my backpack and put it on, pulling the hood up over my head, trying to prevent any more blood from flowing.

Jack cut through yards and parking lots whenever he got the chance. Slowly he calmed down enough to look at me.

"Well, are you going to start explaining, maybe then I'll go a little easier on you with everyone else around." He said with a lack of emotion.

This wasn't the kind of thing I'd usually go for, but we were almost home and I needed all the help I could get.

"What do you want to know?" I asked, surprisingly calmly.

"Who's Paul?" He asked and I could hear his voice getting more hostile.

"I already told you." I answered, for Paul's safety I wanted to get off the topic as quickly as possible.

"No, you told me less than nothing!" Jack snapped as we walked up the steps to our front door.

Jack opened the door, shoving me in. Jerry was sitting on the couch and looked up as we entered.

He glanced at the clock, "What are you two doing home?" He asked, looking slightly concerned.

"I'll explain when I get back. I need to go for a walk and cool off." He stated then he turned to me, "Go wash up, I'll be right back."

"Jack…" I pleaded, I was honestly worried about what he was about to do.

"Don't worry about it, Alex. Jer make sure she washes up." He said sternly before leaving the house.

"What's with him?" Jerry asked, turning to me.

I ignored him and rushed upstairs to the bathroom.

When I was done showering I examined the cut on my head, it looked better than it felt. I pulled out my phone and deleted all its history. I knew already that my brothers would check my phone.

I walked to my room to get ready. When I shut the door I realized how tired I was. I held my phone in my hand, silently making my decision. I dialed the number before I could change my mind.

"Hello?" Paul asked sounding both nervous and hostile, if that was possible.

"Paul," My voice was hoarse, "Meet me at the park on 19th street as soon as you can be there." Not waiting for his answer I hung up the phone, I knew he'd show.

I took one last look around my familiar room, trying to take comfort from it.

"I'm sorry, Ma." I whispered before walking over to my window.

**Hope you liked it! I had a little trouble with the ending; I couldn't decide exactly what should happen. Anyway I hope it turned out ok. I'll try and have another up right away. Don't forget to review, weather your thoughts are good or bad I would still like to hear from you, it helps me become a better and more comfortable writer! **

**Thanks for all the support!**

**Ducttapeandladybugsandboredo m**


	5. Not as Strong as I Thought

**Disclaimer: I do not own Four Brothers but I do own Alexandria Mercer**

"Where do you think you're going?" Angel's voice was oddly kind; he mustn't have talked to Jack yet.

"I'm going… nowhere. Sorry." I said, looking down, I got along well with Angel for the most part.

Angel stood at the door, waiting for me to walk towards him. I stood still, thinking of the last times they had been mad at me or the times they had been mad at each other. When it came down to it my brothers were all nice guys, well sort of, even though I would never admit it, but they were terribly over-protective and over-confident. There was no way on earth that I could see this going well.

Angel stood there, watching me. I sighed and walked over to him, following him slowly down the stairs. When we walked down the stairs I could see all of my brothers in the living room. Jack was pacing back and forth looking terribly shaken up, I couldn't help but wonder what had happened on his walk, not to mention what had made him act so weird today. I mean, I felt bad for making him worry, but he had completely over-reacted, most people said he was the sane one, boy, were they wrong.

Still standing behind Angel I silently deleted Paul's number out of my phone and slid the phone back in my pocket.

"Sit." Bobby said without even looking at me.

I knew better than to argue this time, no matter how much they cared about me, I was still a lot smaller than them, not to mention terribly outnumbered.

Without a word from anybody, Jack began to tell the story, where he had found me, when and, the scariest of all, with whom.

Meanwhile, I stared out the window, distracting myself from the inevitable. My long, light brown hair fell into my face. I avoided eye contact with everybody and toned Jack out. I knew he wasn't going to lie; he had enough on me that there was no point.

I took a deep breath, I could feel Angel's eyes on me and I knew he was wondering if I had actually been planning on running away. To be honest, I don't know if I would have, I mean after everything Ma had done for me I don't think I would be able to break her heart like that.

Paul was probably waiting for me to show up, man, I couldn't deal with him being mad at me too. I slid further into my seat on the couch, wishing that I could just disappear into it. I knew all four of my brothers were watching my every move, waiting for my expression to change even slightly. For this reason, I focused on keeping my expression neutral and avoiding all eye-contact.

Subconsciously I was aware that Jack had stopped talking but I still jumped when someone spoke directly to me.

"Was this the first time you skipped class?" A stern, angry voice asked.

With all the strength in my body, I couldn't prevent myself from laughing. Good ol' Jer! No need to focus on the big picture.

"That's not exactly what's important at the moment, Jer!" Bobby snapped.

"Yes, Jerry. Don't worry, it was the first time I'd ever skipped class." I lied in a way that I hoped was convincing enough to at least get me off the hook for that.

Jerry didn't look overly convinced, but he left the subject.

"Who were you with?" Angel asked and his voice was no longer kind or calm.

I shut my eyes, trying to figure out what to say. Bobby smacked me up-side the head, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Pay attention and answer the question!" Bobby ordered.

"Paul." I answered simply, deciding not to give any more information than was necessary.

I looked up; it would be good at least to know what I was dealing with. Judging by their eyes, Angel was without a doubt the angriest. The only one of my older brothers that was sometimes capable of hiding his anger was Jeremiah. Jerry acted pretty much the same either way; bossy.

It made sense that Angel was angriest, after all, had I decided that I was going to tell one of my brothers about Paul, before this all had happened of course, it would have been Angel. Angel would have naturally asked to meet him, and, though he likely would have armed himself with a gun as well as a switchblade for such an occasion, had everything gone well, he likely would have let it be.

Bobby on the other hand would never have let it go.

Jerry would likely tell Ma and take it upon himself to find me an escort to take me everywhere I went. By everywhere, I mean everywhere.

Jack was too unpredictable in situations like that, depending on his mood he would either tell Bobby, try to take matters into his own hands(something that could only end horribly) or completely ignore it. Yes, Angel would be, by far, the best choice.

Angel seemed to also agree on this fact, assuming that, to avoid situations like this, I would have spoken to him right away. He must have assumed that because I hadn't spoken to him there mustn't be anything to speak about. Finding out that I hadn't told him must have horrified him. The smart thing to do would have been to tell him in the first place, that way, had we still ended up here today, Jack and Jerry would have both trusted Angel's judgment. Bobby on the other hand trusted nobody's judgment but his own, but like I said before, one brother was much easier to deal with than four.

"Who exactly is Paul and why are we just finding out about him today?" Bobby asked.

I looked back down, feeling four sets of eyes on me.

"Paul is my best friend, and you are just finding out about him because this is my life, not yours!" As soon as the words were out of my mouth I realized how stupid they were.

I received a punch in both arms almost simultaneously, Bobby and Jerry I assumed, not that it really mattered who it was.

"I'd suggest you found a better answer than that, Ali." Bobby said.

It was rare that anyone called me Ali. I went by Alexandria (if I had to) and anything and everything short for that, it got confusing sometimes.

I took a deep breath, choosing my words wisely, "You guys are my brothers… I didn't think it was necessary to tell you everything that happens in my life." I said with my voice as gentle and innocent as possible.

"Well it is." Bobby said matter-of-factly.

"Does Ma know?" Jerry asked.

Damn it! They didn't call him the smart one for nothing!

I stayed completely silent, staring fixedly at the abstract rug on the ground.

Angel yanked me off the couch, shoving me up against the wall, "After all Ma has done for you, you don't even have the decency to tell her?" He demanded before shoving me back onto the couch.

Bobby opened his mouth to talk but Jerry cut him off, "Are you dating this "Paul"?" He inquired.

I laughed, "No, gross! He's like a brother to me!"

"You care about him?" Bobby pried.

"Yeah of course I do." I said carefully.

"And you want us to go easy on him, yes?" Bobby was without a doubt bargaining with me.

I stood up, turning to face him, "Don't you dare touch him!" I warned.

"Does she have any idea who she's talking to?" Jack whispered to Angel with a slight laugh.

I glared at him.

"Jack's right, those chances are slim, but letting him live definitely fits under the category "go easy on him", considering his offence." Bobby affirmed.

"BOBBY!" I screamed.

"Even that will only happen if you stop seeing him completely." Bobby reported.

"No! That's not going to happen. I told you, he's like my brother!" My anger had risen to its peak.

"You have four brothers, Alex." Jerry added.

_Oh, really? I never noticed._ I thought, sarcastically.

"Yeah, Jer, I know! Too bad Paul has been a better brother to me than all four of you put together!" I shouted.

Angel grabbed on to the front of my shirt, "You think having you as a little sister is such a picnic? You think we are just overjoyed with this? You think that we are trying to make things turn out like this, trying to ruin your life? Let me tell you something, you couldn't be more wrong! You call Bobby hot-headed? I've never met someone so arrogant, so ungrateful, even to Ma! You know everybody's always so afraid to say it out loud but it's times like this where we all wish we had been smart enough to talk Ma out of the biggest mistake of her life! Well you know what? I'm not afraid to say it anymore and I know that I speak for everyone when I say I wish you had never been adopted!"

The look on my other three brothers' faces mirrored my own surprise but although they were clearly shocked by Angel's outburst, no one stood up in my defense.

"ANGEL MERCER!" Ma appeared in the doorway, "I don't ever want to hear you speak to your sister like that again!"

"Ma… You're home… early…" Angel said, obviously surprised.

I took everyone's surprise as a chance to get away from them.

"Alex!" Bobby yelled, grabbing for my arm.

I slammed myself against the wall, rushing passed him and up the stairs to my room.

I slammed my bedroom door, hot tears running down my face. I had often been told about how I had ruined my brothers' lives or things of that sort but none of them had ever told me that they wished I hadn't been adopted. As a matter of fact, they rarely even mentioned my adoption. That was definitely something I hadn't been prepared to hear.

I thought back to my first day here, but immediately pushed the thought out of my head. What if everything they had said that day was a lie? What if it was all an act? What if they had really always hated me? Did they all agree with Angel? I mean, they all seemed surprised, even Angel for that matter, but no one had actually disagreed with him.

I shut my eyes, blocking all the thoughts out of my head, trying my best to stop crying. I tried to focus on something else, anything. I could worry about this later. I wasn't going to worry about this right now; I couldn't, for it would kill me. I needed some fresh air but there was no way I had the strength to leave, what if they didn't let me back in?

"She needed to hear it." I heard Angel say from downstairs.

I grabbed my headphones and put them on, turning the volume all the way up as I looked out the window.

Lullaby by Nickelback began blasting in my ears:

_"Well, I know the feeling,_

_Of finding yourself stuck out on the ledge,_

_And there ain't no healing,_

_From cutting yourself with the jagged edge._

_I'm telling you that, it's never that bad,_

_Take it from someone who's been where you're at,_

_Laid out on the floor,_

_And you're not sure you can take this anymore._

_So just give it one more try to a lullaby,_

_And turn this up on the radio._

_If you can hear me now,_

_I'm reaching out,_

_To let you know that you're not alone._

_And if you can't tell, I'm scared as hell,_

_'Cause I can't get you on the telephone._

_So just close your eyes,_

_Oh, honey here comes a lullaby,_

_Your very own lullaby._

_Please let me take you,_

_Out of the darkness and into the light,_

_'Cause I have faith in you,_

_That you're gonna make it through another night._

_Stop thinking about the easy way out," _

Somebody taped me on the shoulder; I removed my headphones but continued to stare outside, into the darkness.

"You ok?" All four of my brothers asked in unison.

Ma had sent them in to apologize; there was no way that they would have come in on their own free will.

"I'm fine." I lied; it took all my strength not to burst into tears.

"Hey, we didn't mean that, downstairs, we were just…" Jerry said.

"Yeah, I know. Don't worry about it." I said more coldly than I had intended.

I didn't believe their apology, if they hadn't meant it, they wouldn't have said it.

Together, all four of them left my room, shutting my door. I put my head phones back on but I didn't turn on the music, I just stared out the window and cried.

I don't know how long I sat there before Ma came in, putting her hand on my back, she sat on my bed. She sat there quietly, waiting until I was ready.

"Is it true?" I asked, "What they said, do they really hate me that much?"

"Of course it's not!" Her sweet voice made me relax a little, "You know how your brothers are."

The word "brothers" made me flinch a little and Ma pulled me into a long hug.

When she released me I fell silent, wishing I had listened to what they had told her.

As though reading my mind she looked at me, "I hear you got into some trouble while I was gone?"

I bit my lip nervously, I was still unconvinced by what she had said about the boys but I knew I had a lot of explaining to do.

"…Sorry…" I answered, tears filling my eyes again.

"It seems we have a lot to talk about." She said, none too gently.

"Ma… I…" I didn't know what to say.

"I'm very tired now, how about we talk about this tomorrow over some milk and cookies?" She said with a short but sweet smile.

I nodded. "Yes Ma'am." I leaned into her.

"Alright, I don't usually let things slide overnight you know, I usually trust you five to get along while I'm not here." She said sternly.

I don't know why she would ever trust us with such a task.

"Yeah… Sorry…" I started.

She shook her head, "Tomorrow." She said, "It looks like you've had a long day." She gently traced a few of the many new bruises covering my arms.

I nodded.

"Would you like some supper?" She asked.

"No thank you. I would really just like to get to bed." I said gently, although I would have loved to eat some of my Ma's delicious food, it was always such a treat after we had been fending for ourselves.

"Alright, well goodnight then, darling." She smiled and gave me one last hug before leaving my room.

Darling. I smiled slightly; the name never did suit me well.

I rolled over in bed, trying to end the terrible day as quickly as possible before it could get any worse. Man, I was glad to have Ma home.

**Well, I got writing and I forgot to stop! I hope it wasn't boring! Please review, favourite or alert! It means a lot! Hope you liked it!**

**Ducttapeandladybugsandboredo m**


	6. Makes Me Sick

**Hello all! I would like to thank ks90 for the review! Here is chapter 6! Enjoy**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Four Brothers but I do own Alexandria Mercer.**

I woke up, it was still dark in my room and my stomach was grumbling, I was suddenly aware that I hadn't eaten anything the day before. I rolled over and blinked at my alarm clock. 5:52 am. I sat up, thoroughly confused. That was more than an hour earlier than I ever got up and that meant I had fallen asleep shortly after Ma had left my room just after 4:30.

I walked over to the closet, deciding that I might as well get ready; at least I knew none of the boys would be up yet. I felt a pang in my chest; I guess I never really got a chance to deal with what they had said yesterday.

"Suck it up," I mumbled to myself, "Now is not the time!"

I grabbed a tank top and a plaid shirt from my closet before walking over to my dresser to grab a pair of blue jeans. When I was dressed I took a deep breath and quietly opened my door, shutting it behind me before I went downstairs.

"Morning Hun, you are up mighty early this morning! Would you like some breakfast?" Ma said as I entered the kitchen, her cheerfulness never failed at making me smile.

"Morning, Ma! Yes please on the breakfast! What are you doing up so early?" I asked, yawning as I sat down at the counter.

"Oh, I rarely sleep in much past six. Besides, I am always up earlier on my first day back." She smiled at me, "I need to see what damage you lot did to the house." I saw her glance up at the beer bottle that was still sitting on window sill where Bobby had left it.

Ma frowned slightly as she looked at it, before turning back to me, "Eggs?" She asked.

Damn it, Bobby! I don't drink.

"Yes please." I said, looking down slightly.

Clearly Bobby had told Ma about the beer bottle, clearly he had told her that he was sure I had drunk it, clearly he had explained that no one else was home at the time. Clearly Bobby needed to start minding his own business!

Ma placed a plate full of eggs in front of me. She poured us both a glass of orange juice and sat down across from me. We sat there quietly for quite a while; given the amount of trouble I was probably in, I didn't really know what to say.

"How was your trip?" I asked finally.

She looked up at me, as though my presence surprised her, "It went well, I do hate being away from you kids though, especially for that long."

No matter how old we were, Ma would always call us kids, and oddly it wasn't insulting when she said it.

"Things sure run a lot smoother with you around." I said softly, maybe I was sucking up a little.

She smiled at me, but only slightly.

I finished my eggs and got up to put the plate in the sink, "Thanks for breakfast, Ma." I said, trying to sound as innocent as possible.

"It was no trouble, you certainly were hungry." She sounded concerned.

"Oh, I guess I just didn't really eat anything yesterday, besides, your food is so much better than anything we manage to make for ourselves." I didn't want her to worry about me; after all, there was nothing to worry about, just a lot to explain.

I started to leave the kitchen when I heard a door upstairs slam. I stopped cold in my tracks, my brothers may have come to apologize last night but I would have to be stupid to think that they meant it, to think that Ma hadn't forced them or bribed them. As much as I hated to admit it, what they had said had hurt me, hurt me and scared me. I mean, like any siblings, we never really got along, but the thought that they might actually hate me, might actually wish I had never been adopted; it was enough to make me feel both physically and emotionally sick. I stared at the stairs, hoping and praying that no one would come down.

"Ma?" I asked, turning back towards the kitchen.

"Yes Lexi?" Ma often called me Lexi, and even more when she was a little worried about me.

"Would you mind if I walked to school this morning?" I asked timidly, wondering if she was mad at me.

"…Oh… Well… No… I can't see that that would be a problem… Go ahead…" I saw her glance in the direction of upstairs, she knew why I wanted to walk, but she was reluctant to let me.

How much did they tell her? I thought nervously.

"I don't have to if you'd rather I didn't…" I offered regretfully.

She smiled and walked up to me, "No, it's fine, you go right ahead."

"Thanks Ma! You're the best!" I said, giving her a hug.

"But promise me you will attend all of your classes and you will be back right after school! No dilly dallying!" She added sternly.

I looked at her, "I promise." Yes, she was definitely mad at me.

"Well alright then, you can go." She smiled.

I gave her one last hug and a kiss on the cheek before turning to grab my jacket. "I love you, Ma!" I yelled as I reached for the front door.

"I love you, Lexi!" I heard her yell before I shut the door behind me.

I slid around the side of the house, praying that none of my brothers would see me, Bobby in particular. When I knew I was out of view of the house I ran towards Victoria Park, it was, after all on my way to school and I had some time to kill.

I knew the route to Victoria Park by heart; I tried to go there every morning.

"You're up early." Paul's voice appeared from behind me when I was about two blocks away from the park.

"Yeah," I commented absently as I turned around to look at him.

We continued to walk until we reached our usual spot in the park, a huge oak tree. I climbed up and sat on a branch while Paul climbed to a branch on my right.

"So, are you going to skip with me today?" He asked finally.

I turned to him. "You're skipping again? Don't you ever go to school?" I asked in disbelief.

"I can't show my face around there after what happened… I'll get beaten to a pulp, besides, it's not like you can come help me." He shot.

I ignored his bitterness; it wasn't my fault he went to a different school.

I opened my mouth to speak but he cut me off, "Are you going to call me a rebel?" He joked, suddenly carefree again.

Paul was kind of like a hormonal girl when it came to emotions, sort of like a rollercoaster. This was by far his worst quality, one that I could only deal with when I was in the right mood.

"I'm going to call you a coward." I said icily.

"A coward?" He asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, you always act so tough so get out there and show it!" I dared.

There was a dangerous gleam in his eyes but it disappeared quickly and he turned away from me. He was clearly mad at me, as always.

"Oh quit being such a baby! I just mean that I've seen you take on plenty of guys, you're going to have to man up to this one eventually!" I said after a few minutes of silence.

He nodded slightly but other than that he hardly acknowledged the fact that I had spoken.

I just rolled my eyes and pulled out my homework, deciding that I should probably at least try to finish it, unless of course I wanted to get in more trouble. I had finished about six social studies questions when I suddenly felt his eyes on me. I forced myself to ignore it, to just keep answering the questions, when he was ready he'd talk. I tore through the next five questions like they were nothing.

"So, are you going to skip with me or what?" Paul asked finally.

I glanced at him before answering, "Can't sorry. I promised my Ma that I'd be in all my classes."

Paul sat up. "Your Ma?" He asked with a shocked voice.

"Yeah, yeah she got home early yesterday. She saved my butt if you ask me!" I smiled but to be honest I was terrified about trying to explain things to Ma.

He was silent for a while and when he spoke, his voice was low. "Yesterday, that really was your brother Jack?"

I bite my lip nervously before turning to look at him. "Yeah… Yeah, it was. Sorry about that…." I responded.

He nodded and I knew there was more he wanted to say so I was silent until he spoke.

"Not exactly the meeting I was expecting. Thought you said he was the nicer one?" He added bitterly.

"Sad part is, I wasn't lying." I sighed.

He reached out and unzipped my sweater, I might have punched him had I not known what he was doing. Whenever I got in a fight with anyone, especially my brothers, he always checked to see how beat up I really was. I don't know exactly why he did this but he always had, for as long as I'd known him, as a matter of fact, I had punched him for it a few times. To my occasional dismay, this never seemed to discourage him.

He pulled the sweater off of me and simply sighed when he saw the bruises on my arms, I hadn't noticed there were that many.

"Bobby?" He guessed.

I shut my eyes to keep from crying at the mention of my brother's name. I shrugged. "It's hard to tell when they are all there, all equally mad. A little bit of everyone I guess…" I added.

When I opened my eyes I saw him staring at me, looking concerned.

"You ok?" He asked.

"I'll talk to you later maybe? I should be getting to school. I'll call you tonight if I'm not grounded for eternity." I said climbing down from the tree.

He must have known something happened; it didn't usually bother him very much if they hit me, as long as I wasn't bothered.

To my surprise he nodded, climbing down from the tree. He NEVER let me off without telling the whole story. He must have understood that I was in no state to talk and that I would tell him eventually, I always did. I packed up my stuff and grabbed my bag.

"I'll go." He said quietly, as though he wasn't sure.

"What?" I asked. Ok, he had officially confused me.

"To school, I'll go." He said louder this time.

I knew the coward comment would work! I laughed to myself.

He punched me playfully and without another word, we both walked our separate ways.

Walking towards the school alone was quiet. I occupied myself by taking a new route, to make sure I didn't run into Jack who would undoubtedly be walking also. My head was swarming; I had so much explaining to do, to everyone. How I could let everything fall apart like this I'd never know. I tried to figure out what to tell Ma about the beer bottle. I could tell her Paul drank it, no, I couldn't have her thinking that way about him, not when she had just heard of him or could tell her I drank it, no, I would never be trusted again, ever and then there was the truth. Could I tell her the truth? I mean, I hated lying to Ma and she was always so understanding, and I was going to be grounded for life anyway… No, I couldn't tell her what actually happened that night; I had enough trouble even explaining to myself exactly what had taken place just a few short nights ago. Besides, no one was that understanding. No, whatever I told her, it wouldn't be the truth.

**Sorry this chapter is a little boring! I wanted you to have a bit with Paul and Alex when they weren't being interrupted by Jack. On the bright side, I am already planning the next chapter and it should be up soon! I was going to just make this a longer chapter but I decided this way would be better! Again, sorry that there was very little action but there has to be some regular life at some point! Besides, the next chapter should be more exciting! I hope you liked it anyway and please review!**

**Ducttapeandladybugsandboredo m**


	7. I Dare You

**Before I begin the chapter I would just like to wish my best friend in the whole entire world a happy birthday! Thanks for always being there for me and I know I can trust you with anything! I love you to death and I hope I am the first to wish you a happy birthday! I don't know what I'd do without you or who I'd be if I'd never met you! Hope you have a great birthday! Love you and HAPPY BIRTHDAY! **

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own four brothers but I do own Alex Mercer.**

"You are up early!" Suzanne said as I opened my locker.

"So I've been told!" I laughed, turning to her with a huge smile on my face.

"You're in a good mood!" She laughed.

"I'm not really, actually. I'm just glad to get here in one piece maybe? And have someone sane to talk to!" I smiled at her sheepishly.

"I ran into Paul after school yesterday, he told me about what happened with Jack. That's rough, Dude!" She added.

I grabbed my binder and walked towards the library, hoping to maybe get some homework done, Suzanne was a good influence, after all. She stared at me, trying to read my expression but we remained perfectly quiet until we reached the library.

"I bet you have five questions completed." She guessed as we sat down at a table near the back.

"Ha. Ha. I actually finished twelve." My own surprise was audible.

"You still didn't finish." She said matter-of-factly.

She slid her paper across to me.

"I'm not copying off of you." I protested.

She rolled her eyes at me, "You aren't going to be able to finish it. Besides, it looks like you have a story to tell me so you can't get suspended."

I laughed but gave in, "Thanks." I said quietly.

She just smiled.

The questions were boring and she was right, I'd do a lot better if I copied off of her. I concentrated on the words, not letting my mind wander. When I finished I handed her back her paper.

"I owe you one!" I added.

"You owe me like 25." She joked, "Now, tell me what happened yesterday."

I opened my mouth, about to talk, when Jack walked into the library. Our eyes met for a split second before I turned away, shutting my eyes tight as I did, hoping I could hide the pain I felt.

"Are you okay?" Suzanne asked with a concerned expression.

"No. I'm not okay at all." I felt like I was going to be sick. "Please, let's just go." I whispered, standing up.

Suzanne rushed after me and I saw Jack sit with a group of friends, he laughed as he sat down.

As I passed him I turned to Suzanne, forcing a huge smile. "So, how are you?" I asked.

She laughed as we passed by; she was trying to keep up my charade.

When the door to the library closed behind us I slid around the corner, leaning against the wall and exhaling deeply, "The one day that we both decide to be responsible at the same time had to be today?" I asked mostly to myself.

She put her arm on my shoulder and led me in the other direction. I was shaking slightly.

"It was a long night." I said finally.

Suzanne was always so sweet and a valued her for that.

"It's hot in here." I commented as I removed my sweater, lying it on my arm.

"Let's get some fresh air." She still sounded worried, naturally I suppose, this behavior was unlike me.

"Ma came home last night." I started to try and explain.

"Mercer." I heard a stern voice call my name.

I turned around to see the principal standing outside the office doors.

"I've been told that you skipped some classes yesterday?" He asked, although it wasn't really a question.

They called the principal? That's low! My brothers were going to hear from me when I got home! I couldn't believe it! Who did they think they were? Suddenly I was no longer hurt by what Angel had said, my anger blocked out that entire emotion.

"In my office please." He added when I didn't answer.

"No sir, I don't know what you're talking about." I'll admit, this wasn't the most convincing lie but I might as well go big or go home.

He stared at me and I made the mistake of handing my binder and sweater to Suzanne. His eyes shot immediately to my arms, my arms that were covered in new bruises.

An odd smile crossed his face for a split second, "Where did you get those bruises, Alex?" He asked.

"That," I said coldly, "is none of your business."

"I couldn't help but over hear that Evelyn got home yesterday?"

"What has that got to do with anything?" I shot, daring him to keep this up.

"I know for a fact those bruises weren't there yesterday, Alex." His voice was smooth.

"This is the second time in two days that you have implied that you think Ma abuses me! I dare you to try and say it again." I threatened.

"Is that a threat?" He warned.

"Yes." Although this was the answer I would have given, the words did not come from my voice.

Shocked, I turned around to see none other than my brother Jack standing at the end of the hallway looking furious.

"Nobody speaks that way about Ma!" His voice was hard, "Least of all you!" He narrowed his eyes; walking straight past me as though he hadn't noticed I was there.

"Ah, Jack, there is no need to get defensive, I am merely following the facts." Mr. Adam said, false niceness dripping from every word.

"There are no facts! Your assumption is wrong." Jack's voice was rising but for the most part he was keeping his cool, a talent of his that he hadn't used yesterday.

"Jack, it is okay to admit it. I know that you have been to a lot of terrible homes, both of you have, and although what she does may not be as bad, that does not make it right." Mr. Adam wasn't aware of the line he crossed.

I had been mad before Jack had shown up and his presence only seemed to fuel my own anger so when I felt my fist clench, thinking back, it was possible that I would have hit either one of them. I could hear Jack yelling something at the principal, a threat I'd assume though I couldn't make out any words. My arm extended and I wasn't consciously aware of my movements until my fist collided with Mr. Adam's nose, causing a satisfying "CRUNCH" sound.

I backed up, shocked by my own movements, and had it been any of my other three brothers standing beside me I never would have believed that it had been me that threw the punch. Jack, on the other hand, would never have reacted that way, even if he had been acting weird yesterday.

A few teachers rushed out of the office, I hadn't even noticed they were there. Immediately one teacher pinned me against the wall and two pinned Jack while another forced the students, who had undoubtedly gathered to watch what would happen, to leave the hallway. Mr. Adam grabbed his nose, rushing in the direction of the school nurse, looking both furious and shocked. I glanced at the teacher who had me pinned. I recognized him but I didn't know who he was. I watched as Jack said something to the teachers who had him pressed up against the wall, the teachers glanced at each other quickly before releasing Jack who straightened his sweater before walking in my direction, his expression unreadable.

"Don't touch her." Jack had a strange tone to his voice, one that I didn't recognize.

"I will release her when she calms down." The teacher said.

"ALEX!" Jack snapped, acknowledging me for the first time.

I allowed myself to relax, taking a deep breath. My muscles relaxed. The teacher released me immediately, hardly hesitating. Jack extended his arm and despite myself I flinched, but instead of hitting me, he wrapped his arm around me and pulled me into a hug.

"You can both take your seats in the office." The teacher who had been getting rid of all the other students said to us, I recognized her now as my English teacher.

Jack walked that way but kept one arm wrapped around me protectively. When we sat down I had to turn and look at him. All my brothers were very different but Jack was the only one I couldn't picture doing something like this.

Jack was, for the most part, absorbed in his own life, not taking any interest in anyone else. If it didn't affect him, he didn't care. Jack was by far the most understanding for this reason but he was also most likely to tell Bobby. In any case, for the most part, I stayed out of his life and he stayed out of mine, as well as everyone else's.

Angel never occupied himself on getting overly involved in my life, he would rather be over at La Vida Loca's house or with any other girl I suppose. Angel however did like to be involved, so, he expected you to tell him on your own free will and if you didn't he was mad, very mad, as he had so clearly demonstrated the day before.

Jeremiah was all about being responsible, his anger was usually justified. If he thought that I had been skipping school, he'd murder me in my sleep, but if he thought I was out passed curfew merely because I lost track of time and had in fact been following the rules, he would hardly care. He was confusing this way. Honestly, had Jerry trusted me, he wouldn't have cared at all about Paul, the fact that he had been mad just proved that he had zero trust in me.

Bobby on the other hand prided himself in knowing what was going on in the lives of his siblings, though, for someone who spent so much time on the task, he wasn't very good at it. Bobby assumed that he knew. Knew what exactly? Everything. Bobby thought he knew everything and he was constantly jumping to conclusions. His hot-headed nature refused to let him trust anyone else's judgment.

Jack spoke, startling me out of my thoughts, "We are going to be in so much trouble." His voice still held that strange tone, though not as audibly this time.

"We," I commented quietly.

It had been a long time since Jack and I had been a "we" and I knew, from previous experience, that Jack and I made a dangerous team.

**Hope you liked it! Don't forget to review, please and thank you! Good or bad, reviews, I love them all!**

**Ducttapeandladybugsandboredo m**


	8. Thinking Back

**Enjoy!**

Ma was furious when she walked into the office. "Which one of you is going to tell me what happened today?" She asked Jack and me as she approached us.

I stayed quiet and I saw her eyes linger on me. I knew she was disappointed that I was in trouble. Again.

"Depends, what did they tell you?" Jack asked but his voice was quiet.

"They hardly told me a thing, just that two of my children were in line for expulsion." She said sternly.

Jack and I both looked down, trying to figure out the right words.

"Evelyn! Good to see you again!" Mrs. Cannel, the school counselor said.

"Oh! Jocelyn! Yes it is wonderful to see you; although it would be much more enjoyable to under different circumstances." Ma said, making no effort to hide the disappointment in her voice.

"Well yes, but if you would like to step into my office we can discuss what happened today." Mrs. Cannel said. She was quite a bit younger than Ma.

Jack and I stood up, about to follow.

"Evelyn and I will talk in private first please." Mrs. Cannel added.

Jack and I sat back down, our movements oddly united. It was weird, Jack and I, sitting here, together. This was something that hadn't happened in years.

I saw Jack look down at me, his gaze lingering on me for a few seconds before I looked at him.

"What?" I asked.

"Oh, it's nothing." He said looking away.

"Jack!" I pressed, "Just tell me."

"You're just covered in bruises is all, a lot of bruises," He said and if I hadn't known better I would have said there was actually regret in his voice.

"Yeah, and?" I asked.

"I just didn't think that… I just figured… They really weren't there yesterday?" Jack stuttered slightly, he always had been the shy one.

"No, Jack," I sighed. "They weren't there yesterday, or at least not when the principal saw me they weren't…"

"The principal saw you yesterday? Why?" He asked.

I shrugged, "Same as all ways."

To this comment he look taken a back, as though he didn't realize that this was a regular occurrence. Come to think of it, he probably didn't.

He hesitated before asking, "And why is that?"

I had avoided eye contact with him through the entire conversation, unable to look him in the eye. He moved uncomfortably.

"I don't punch everyone if that's what you are asking." I stated, with a little hostility.

He laughed, "It wasn't."

I nodded slowly, knowing he still wanted the honest answer. Jackie pulled out his Mp3 and headphones, probably sensing the same tension and awkwardness that I felt.

"Back talking mostly, and to harass me about Ma." I said numbly.

"He's done that to you before?" His disbelief shocked me.

"…Yeah, Jackie…" I said slowly and glanced up at him. Our eyes met, really met, for the second time that day, and for the second time that day, I looked away almost instantly.

We sat there in silence for quite a while before he spoke.

"If we get expelled, you're dealing with Jerry." He added.

I laughed. "No way!" I shook my head. "Maybe Ma will be able to talk us out?"

"Maybe." He said. "Just maybe she will."

Then, for what felt like the hundredth time, we were submersed in silence, a silence so loud.

Jack opened his mouth as though he was about to say something but after pausing he put his headphones on and, I would assume, turned up the music. I followed his lead, putting on my headphones and blasting the music.

Song after song passed through my head as the music played but I didn't hear a single thing, not a word, not a note. I was thinking back to the time, all those years ago, the last time Jack and I had been in trouble together, the last time we had really devised a plan together, really worked together. Actually, that was probably the last time Jack and I had really done anything together, just him and me. The last time we had really truly connected. Or at least the last one of these times that came to mind.

**Eight years earlier: **

"I hate them! We shouldn't be upstairs while they are downstairs!" A nine year old Jack grumbled to a seven year old me.

I just nodded.

Ma had left on one of her business trips, the first one she had gone on since I had been adopted a year and a half earlier. Naturally, she had left Bobby in charge, but even at such young ages Jack and I were more responsible.

Ma had only left that morning but so far, all that our three brothers had done was boss us around and treat us like incompetent children, something Ma had never done.

Jack and I were sitting on the top step, trying to overhear what was happening downstairs. Bobby had sent us upstairs; he was upset about something, mad at someone, typical Bobby. Jack and I were both relatively quiet and it had been obvious how angry, seventeen year old, Bobby was so Jack and I hadn't argued when he told us to wait in our rooms.

"What happened again?" I asked Jack, turning my attention away from the bottom of the staircase.

"Angel got in a fight or something I think." Jack answered.

"Is he ok?" I immediately thought about how much my older brother hated the hospital; none of them were actually overly fond of it.

"I think he hurt his pride." Jack joked, he had been a part of the Mercer family longer than I had and was very familiar with the boys' personalities.

"Ouch. Was he kicked?" I interrogated.

"I don't know, why?" Jack looked at me, confusion visible in his vibrant blue eyes.

"Ma says people aren't supposed to kick boys there." I stated, wanting to share my intelligence.

"Not privates, Dumbo! Pride." Jack explained.

"Oh." I blushed.

"You're stupid." Jack laughed.

"Shut up!" I said glaring at him and punching him in the arm.

At that moment I heard Bobby come stomping up the stairs, despite ourselves, Jack and I both flinched.

"Both of you go to Alex's room." Bobby ordered walking up to us, I could see now that Jerry and Angel were both behind Bobby.

Obediently, we both got up, walking to my room and sitting on my bed, assuming that we were in trouble for trying to listen to what was happening downstairs.

My three oldest brothers walked into my room, all looking equally mad.

"Listen to me," Bobby said sternly. "We've got to go somewhere, we won't be long but the two of you are going to stay right here! You will not leave this room, you will not turn on any music or any lights! You will sit right there on that bed and whisper amongst yourselves, no running around! You hear me?"

Jack and I looked at each other. What was Bobby talking about? Leaving us home alone?

"What if someone comes?" I asked quietly.

Bobby looked around, turning to Jerry for suggestions. Fifteen year old Jerry looked around my room for a moment before walking over to my dresser. He pulled out one of my drawers, examining it for a minute before spontaneously bursting into laughter.

"Is something loose in your head, Jerry?" Angel asked.

I turned my attention to Angel briefly, I noticed that he had a long cut across his left eye, a large bruise around his right eye, a cut along the entire right side of his face, at least one bruise on his right arm and his bottom lip was cut open. What had he done? He'd only been out of the house for twenty minutes!

"Seriously Jer, it's not the time to be looking at Alex's fashion choices." Bobby sounded both frustrated and confused.

"No Bobby, look, I can screw on the front of the drawers to the front of the dresser, that will make it look like there are drawers even if there aren't. I have an idea, Ang, go get the tool box, will ya?" Jerry said.

"Sorry, I was confused by the laughing, thought you must be amused by her clothing choices." Bobby smiled, glancing over at me.

I stuck out my tongue.

Angel rushed into the room with the tool box and passed it to Jerry who got right to work. Bobby watched for a second before turning his attention back to Jack and me.

"Remember what I said?" Bobby asked.

Jack and I both nodded.

"Stay away from the windows and doors at all costs! We shouldn't be too long." Bobby added before whispering something to Angel who proceeded to leave the room.

"How long's this going to take, Jer?" Bobby asked finally.

"Uh… I... Am… Just about…. Done!" He said, standing up as Angel walked back into the room carrying a medium sized duffle bag and handing it to Bobby.

"Alright, look at this!" Jerry said with excitement.

He then opened the back of my dresser.

"If anyone comes you can both climb into the back of this. When you're inside you can lock it with this little metal lever. In the front it looks like drawers but it's actually just the front of from the drawer, so there is room for both of you inside." He closed the back of my dresser, looking impressed with himself

"You both understand how to do that?" Bobby asked as Jerry pushed the dresser back into place.

Jack and I nodded.

"Alright, because you're the oldest, you're in charge. Got that Fairy?" Bobby said to Jack.

I slumped; it wasn't fair that I was the youngest.

"You know I'm only nine, right?" Jack answered.

Twelve year old Angel suddenly looked nervous, "I don't know Bobby… I mean… Maybe we shouldn't… We could… I don't know…. Just wait… Maybe…. Someone could come here… We could take them to Mrs. Fay's… I mean… They're just kids and…." Angel stuttered.

"We're going, Angel. They'll be fine as long as they follow instructions." Jerry and Bobby said in unison.

"That was scary." I whispered to Jack who smiled in agreement.

Jerry grabbed my clothes and the parts of my dresser that he had removed and went to hide them in his room.

"Stay right there; don't make any noise or any light." Bobby said.

"We shouldn't be long." Jerry said, suddenly standing in my doorway.

I noticed something silver sticking out of his back pocket but before I got a good look he turned away. Bobby must have noticed it too for he shot Jerry a look. Jerry returned the look by shrugging and then nodding sarcastically towards the black duffle bag Bobby was holding. Bobby sighed slightly, shaking his head, but let it go.

"Lean against the wall, away from the window!" Bobby ordered before turning off the light and shutting my door as they all left the room.

Jack and I sat in the dark, watching out the window until we saw Bobby's car drive away. We were silent for a long time before Jack finally spoke.

"I bet they went out drinking." He said regretfully.

"You really think so? Ma's not here though." I was nervous; I hated it when people drank.

"Exactly, that way they can't get in trouble!" He sounded angry, if Ma had let him, Jack would have already been a drinker.

I pushed myself further into the corner, dreading their return home if they had been drinking.

"Don't worry, we'll get them back. Come on!" Jack told me, getting off my bed.

"But… They'll be mad and if they've been drinking…" I started.

"Don't worry. They won't do anything to us, just yell." Jack, usually so timid always got so brave when he was mad.

I was still worried, but I had long since accepted the boys as my brothers and I enjoyed messing with them. There was no way I was going to let Jack have all the fun so I got off of my bed and followed him out of my room. In the hallway Jack turned on the light before going down the stairs.

"You wait here, I'll check downstairs first because I'm older." He sounded so proud.

I rolled my eyes but nodded.

When he had walked around the house for a while, successfully turning on all the lights, he gave me a thumbs-up, giving me permission to go down the stairs to meet him.

"What should we do?" Jack asked when I walked up beside him.

"I thought you had a plan." I said, sighing.

Suddenly, we both seemed to realize that we were completely alone and instinctively grabbed each other's hand.

"We better get to work before they get here." Jack said after sitting in silence with me for a few minutes.

I nodded and together we walked to the kitchen, still holding hands. I opened on cupboard and looked inside for anything that might make my brothers mad.

"Jackie, what if we put that in their beds?" I asked pointing up to the cereal.

"That's a good start! Can you reach?" He asked.

"No." I said with a smile before climbing into the cupboard and standing on the shelves, climbing higher until I could reach the cereal.

"Catch!" I called to Jack before throwing down a box of Rice Krispies.

Jack caught the box and set it on the counter before opening the fridge and pulling out the maple syrup.

"Do you think they'll shampoo their hair tonight?" He asked.

I giggled, "They will in the morning."

Jack and I rushed around the kitchen, trying to find more ways to mess with our brothers.

"We could put stinky cheese in their hockey bags?" Jack suggested.

"Aren't those stinky enough?" I asked, plugging my nose.

Nothing seemed like it would work and we were beginning to panic, we had no idea what time the older boys would be home, all we knew was that they'd be mad when they found out we had disobeyed them.

"Alright," Jack said finally, "We need to split up and start setting at least something up. If you think of something else do it."

"Ok, I'll start with the cereal." I smiled.

Jack returned my smile and we rushed off to begin setting up.

I rushed up to Angel's room which was right across from mine. I pulled the comforter off the bed and crushed the Rice Krispies as finely as possible before spreading them all over his sheet. When it seemed like there were enough crumbs I remade the bed.

Quickly I redid the job in Bobby's and Jerry's rooms, adding a little more cereal to Bobby's, after all, he was the one in charge. When I was all done I returned the cereal to the top shelf and climbed into the cupboard under the sink, it took me a minute but I finally climbed out with a big jug of vinegar.

I poured a cupful of vinegar and returned the jug to the back of the cupboard before taking the cup to the upstairs bathroom. When I was upstairs I dipped three tooth brushes in the vinegar and poured the rest down the drain.

"Alex! I have an idea!" Jack called from somewhere downstairs.

"Coming, Jackie!" I yelled and ran down the stairs to find him.

Jack was sitting on the couch, a huge smile on his face.

"Let's make it seem like someone came!" Jack could barely get the words out before he burst into a maniacal laugh.

I agreed to his plan right away. I wasn't nervous anymore, the fact that they might have gone out drinking had totally slipped my mind.

I watched as Jack dumped a bunch of magazines and DVDs onto the floor, spreading them around the room. Quickly I grabbed a lamp off the side table and placed it on the ground. Jack unplugged the TV, explaining that if I did it I might electrocute myself; to this I replied simply that I should have put cereal in his bed too.

Once Jack and I had tipped over the couch, we both rushed upstairs to mess up our brothers rooms. We threw Jerry's clothes everywhere, including some into the hallway. If it was possible to make Angel's and Bobby's rooms any messier, we definitely managed it.

When we were done with the older boys rooms Jack decided we should mess up ours a little bit too, just to add to the image. We did Jack's room first, not needing to do too much work.

In my room, we concentrated mostly on the dresser, deciding to open the secret door on the back and flip the whole thing onto its side.

No sooner then had we finished with my dresser did we hear a car in the driveway. Jack rushed to my window and peered out a tiny slit in the blinds.

"It's them!" He confirmed before grabbing my arm and dragging me into the hall closet.

He threw out a bunch of towels and helped me onto the second shelf. When we were both safely tucked away on the shelf he shut the door and we both fell silent.

"Guys we're home! What the heck happened?" We could hear Bobby yell.

"Dammit!" Jerry yelled and we could hear three pairs of feet rush up the stairs.

I giggled and Jack put his hand over my mouth.

Someone rushed right passed the closet and into my room.

"Jer, your stupid idea didn't work so well! Whoever was here found the hiding spot!" Angel sounded panicked.

"Dammit!" Bobby yelled.

"Jackie! Alex! You guys ok?" Jerry screamed.

"They're not here, Jer!" Angel shot at him, his voice was cold.

"Where are they? Who took them? What do we tell Ma?" Jerry was rushing around the house, mumbling questions more to himself than to anyone else.

"Fairy? Lexi? Can you guys hear me? Come out it's just us!" Bobby yelled.

"Dammit!" Jerry yelled again.

Suddenly I remembered that Jack thought they had been out drinking, I pushed myself to the back of the shelf, sitting up a little I banged my head on the bottom of the shelf above us.

Bang!

The closet door swung open, revealing a worried looking Bobby.

Jack started to laugh. "WE TRICKED YOU!" He yelled.

Jack's enthusiasm made me laugh too.

The worried look on Bobby's face turned immediately to sheer anger.

"What are you two talking about?" He demanded.

"We tricked you. You left us home alone so we tricked you guys." Jack smiled innocently.

"Both of you, out!" Bobby yelled, moving out of our way.

Jack climbed out first, looking slightly ashamed, but when he turned around and picked me up, placing me on the floor, I saw him smile at me.

The three older boys lectured us for a while, talking about how it wasn't funny to worry someone and that we would have to clean all this up. Jackie and I sat close together on the couch, me cuddling up to him, taking comfort in the fact that maybe, just maybe, he would protect me if they decided to hit me. They didn't hit me though, although it was clear that they were furious, they hardly even yelled. They were all acting oddly quiet, not that I would complain. They just talked and confirmed that Ma would deal with this when she got home. They threatened about what they would do if we ever thought about doing this again and together, Jackie and I sat quietly on the couch for almost two hours as they lectured. I bet they would have lectured us all night had Jerry not pointed out how late it was and that we should get to bed, for tomorrow, we would have a lot of cleaning up to do.

"I still think it was funny." Jackie whispered as we both climbed the stairs to go to bed.

"I do too." I giggled quietly before climbing into bed.

Jackie slept on my floor that night, probably still stuck in protective mode. I fell asleep almost instantly, enjoying his presence and knowing, or at least believing, that he cared about me and would never, ever, ever let anything happen to me.

Sure enough, when Jack and I woke up, Ma was home and the boys had already told her about the trick we had pulled on them the night before. We knew as soon as we walked down the stairs to get breakfast.

"The crumbs were a nice addition." Jerry said in a cold voice, he was always so grumpy when he didn't get enough sleep.

"And Ma wants to see you in the kitchen." Angel added, actually they were all pretty grumpy if they didn't get enough sleep.

Jack and I walked into the kitchen to see Ma. Even if he would never admit I knew he was just as nervous as I was.

"Morning you two, would you mind sitting down for a minute?" Ma asked.

"Ok, Ma." Jack and I said in unison.

We both climbed, with quite a bit of effort might I add, onto the stools positioned at the island in the middle of the room.

At that moment, Bobby walked into the room soaking wet with a sticky substance in his hair.

"What exactly was in my shampoo bottle?" Bobby demanded.

Jack and I both started laughing.

"Maple syrup." I answered, giving him the most innocent looking of my smiles.

He slammed his fist on the counter and stormed out of the room without another word.

Jack and I smiled at each other.

"Your brothers are pretty upset about what happened last night." Ma said, looking at us sternly.

"Sorry Ma, we'll clean it up." I said, hoping to get away without too much of a punishment.

"I expected better of both of you!" Disappointment filled her voice.

"It serves them right for leaving us home alone!" Jack defended.

Ma looked shocked. "They did what?" She demanded.

How they had managed to leave out such a vital bit of information when they were explaining what we had done, was something I would never understand.

"They left us home alone so we decided to trick them and make it seem like someone had taken us." Jack explained.

"Hmmm. Well, would you both mind going upstairs to play for a little bit?" Ma asked.

Jack and I agreed, without hesitation.

Upstairs, I sat in his room playing Lego with him until Ma walked in probably three hours later, looking like she had been crying.

She sat on the bed and motioned for us to come and sit beside her. She then explained that the boys were in lots of trouble for leaving us and she said she was very proud of us for staying here all by ourselves but that it still wasn't nice of us to play a trick on them. She said that they had been very worried and it wasn't fair for us to make them worry even if they had been unfair to us. Two wrongs do not make a right. She told us that we would have to clean up the mess we had made and apologize to our brothers but that the boys had to apologize to us as well. The last thing she said before leaving the room was that we were to never, ever speak of this again. Ever.

Jack and I did as we were told, we worked together to clean up and we apologized to the older boys for scaring them. They each apologized to us, saying that they shouldn't have left us.

And that was it; it was over, like it had never even happened. I never mentioned it again, at least, not until one day three years later when I had been sitting in Angel's room, listening to music with him:

We had been listening to Something in Your Mouth by Nickelback when I had turned to him, suddenly overcome with curiosity.

I spent a lot of time with Angel, becoming closer to him as Jack and I drifted apart.

"Hey Angel," I'd asked. "Mind if I asked what happened that day, I was about seven, and you Jerry and Bobby went out, you were supposed to be babysitting Jack and I and…"

Angel looked up from the Playboy magazine in his hand and focused his attention on me.

"You had come back from the store all bruised and cut up, where did you guys go when you left? What happened?" I managed to ask.

Angel looked back at the magazine, his voice hostile, guarded, when he answered. "It was a long time ago, Alex. It doesn't matter anymore; nothing that happens now can change what happened that night!"

"Exactly, so tell me now." I said, I was taken aback by Angel's coldness but that only made me all the more curious.

"Drop it, if anyone found out that you two were left alone at that age they'd take you and Jackie away, putting you both back in the system. Do you want that?" He stood up, anger and resentment in his eyes.

"Angel… I was just…" My voice trailed off.

"I've got to go, Alex. See you later." And with that, he left the room, shutting the door behind him, he left me behind.

The music kept playing as though nothing had happened, although, I realize now, so much had.

I sat in Angel's room, replaying his reaction in my head, until Ma called me down for supper.

"Alright you two, let's go." Ma said, startling me out of my thoughts.

Jack and I stood up without a word, knowing Ma would talk to us in the van. She would talk when she was ready.

In the silence of the van I realized that I hadn't thought about that incident in five years. Mine and Jack's teamwork that day hadn't even crossed my mind. I hadn't analyzed Angel's reaction since the day it happened five years ago. I had pushed it all out of my mind but thinking back now I realized that I had missed so many things. The boys hadn't come back drunk. They hadn't brought the duffle bag back into the house. Angel had become quieter since that day. Jack and I had been there for each other and for some reason that was one of the last times it happened. Ma had been crying. Jack and I had gotten off the hook way too easy. When, at the age of ten, I had mentioned that day to Angel, he had become hostile, his guard had come up and he had left the house. Maybe, I suddenly realized, there was more than one reason that Jack and I might be taken away if anyone found out what had happened that day.

**Alex takes a little bit of a trip down memory lane while her and Jack are sitting in the office awaiting their punishment. It was a pretty long chapter but I hope you liked it anyway. Let me know what you thought! I love all reviews, good or bad, so don't forget to review! Hope you liked it!**

**Ducttapeandladybugsandboredo m**


	9. Let's Call This an Apology

**Thanks to MusicForMySoul, Elle, and ComicGeek for the reviews! You guys have no idea how much that means to me!**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Four Brothers… On the other hand, I do own Alex Mercer. **

**Enjoy!**

"Do you not think you owe me an explanation?" Ma asked finally.

"Ma, you should have heard the things he was saying about you!" Jack defended.

Personally, I didn't think that that was the best defense but I decided to keep silent, Jack could do his best to try and handle it.

"Mr. Adam has never been overly fond of me, but that does not give you the right to punch him or say rude things to him!" Ma said, her voice was loud and stern but she was not yelling, she never yelled.

I glanced over at Jack. What had he said to Mr. Adam?

I looked up and saw Ma's eyes looking at me in the rear-view mirror. I tried to return her gaze, but, like I had done with Jack, I turned away almost immediately.

"…Ma…" I said finally, realizing that Jack was pretty much done with his attempted defense. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to disappoint you… I just… I mean… I guess… I just… I don't always think before I act and…" My voice trailed off.

I heard Jack snicker.

Ma shook her head and turned her eyes back to the road, apparently she couldn't find the right words either.

I looked down, my head suddenly filled with Angel's voice. _The biggest mistake of her life. The biggest mistake of her life._

I shut my eyes, preventing myself from crying

"Ma, for the record…?" Jack started to ask.

"You have a two week suspension. Alex gets three weeks because she got… violent." Ma answered before Jack got the chance to finish the question.

"Three weeks? Is that even possible?" I demanded.

"You are very lucky you got off that easy! You were both on the line of expulsion." Ma was clearly displeased.

Jack shifted uncomfortably and I gazed out the window, wishing to be anywhere but here. Jack started to fiddle with his headphones, probably wanting to put them on to break up the awkward silence that filled the van, but was too worried that Ma would get mad. I didn't blame him; I wasn't going to risk making Ma any madder either.

The Detroit scenery passed by as I stared out the window but none of it mattered to me. All I could think about was what Angel had said yesterday, the way not even one of my other three brothers had tried to defend me. Was it possible that they really did hate me the way Angel said they did? Had they just lied to me for the last nine years? After they had teased me, bugged me, annoyed me, protected me and embarrassed me almost daily was it possible it was all fake? Was it possible they really didn't care?

I felt the tears well up in my eyes; I couldn't sit in the van any longer! I couldn't be this close to Jack, I couldn't let my thoughts run wild. I needed music, I needed a distraction, anything that would stop those thoughts from completely taking over my body, anything that would stop me from crying.

The van stopped, making me glance up to see Ma park the van in our drive way.

I breathed a sigh of relief; finally I might be able to get some fresh air.

"You two go to your rooms, I'll be in in a moment." Ma said.

Without a word I unbuckled my seat belt and slid out of the van, shutting the door behind me. Outside, cold air hit my face as I rushed towards the house. I pulled out the key from my pocket and unlocked the front door of the house.

"Hello?" Jack called as soon as he entered the house. "I guess we're safe for a little while longer." He added jokingly when no one answered.

I couldn't help but smile slightly as I headed up the stairs to my room.

Once my bedroom door was closed behind me my heart stopped pounding, the tears disappeared from my eyes and the fear and pain left my heart, although I knew it would all return, at least for now I had kept my cool.

I flopped onto my bed, staring up at the ceiling, hoping that, somehow, the answers to all of my questions would be up there. Of course they weren't, it was, after all, just a ceiling.

I turned my head towards my bedside table and saw the picture of my whole family; it was taken the day after my adoption had been finalized. I frowned at the picture, flipping it upside down so that the faces were no longer visible.

"Milk and cookies as promised." Ma said as she walked into my room, carrying a silver tray.

I looked up at her, her eyes were red and I could see she had been crying.

"…Ma…" Seeing her like this made my whole heart ache. I hadn't meant to cause her any pain.

_The biggest mistake of her life…_

I turned away.

Ma brought the tray over and sat beside me on my bed.

"He has the right to press charges." Ma stated.

I swallowed. "I know." I answered apologetically.

Ma paused, handing me a chocolate chip cookie.

When I didn't continue talking Ma sighed, "Why don't we start with what happened while I was away?" Ma suggested.

"These cookies are really good." I complimented her after taking a bite from my cookie.

"Alexa, who's Paul?" She asked.

I bite my lip, glancing around the room. I felt awful, I couldn't even look my own mother in the eye.

"Paul Trebek. He's my best friend." I explained for what felt like the millionth time that week.

"No best friend that I have ever heard of. I'm not very pleased about that, Lexi." Ma answered.

I wished I knew the right word to say, I wished I knew how to explain in a way that would make it all better. I wished for so much, but in the end, wishing wasn't going to help me, I had to take action.

"I know, and I know I should have told you but I was worried what the boys would say, the way they'd act. I mean, you've got to admit, that couldn't have ended well." I took another bite from the cookie.

"And you think that this was better?" Ma interrogated.

"No. But I thought that at the time. By the time I realized I'd made a mistake I'd already wrapped a web of lies so tightly around me that there was no way anyone would be able to get in…" I pleaded. "Unless, of course, Jack decided to just randomly lurk in a dark alleyway during third period one day…" I added regretfully.

Ma laughed slightly, but only enough to allow me to relax a little bit.

"I've known Paul for six years. I met him when I was nine years old and we became best friends almost immediately." I explained.

Ma waited for me to go on.

"I'm sorry…" I didn't know what else to say.

"How often do you see Paul?" Ma asked.

Answering this question honestly probably wouldn't get me out of trouble, but at the same time, I didn't want to lie to Ma, at least, not about this.

"About once a day…" I answered slowly.

I saw pain appear in Ma's eyes. She hadn't imagined that I had done that much lying.

"And you skipped class to go see this Paul?" Ma asked.

"Yes Ma'am." I said respectively.

"And this was the first time you had skipped class?" Ma questioned.

I took a deep breath before answering, after seeing that pain in Ma's eyes I vowed to try not to lie until it was absolutely necessary and I was beginning to realize how easily the lies came to me, the truth was so much harder. I tried to avoid lying to Ma most of the time anyway, but lately I thought the truth would cause her more pain. Now though, I realized how wrong I had been.

"No. It wasn't. I'm sorry." I apologized.

"Lexi! How often do you skip?" She asked, sounding perplexed.

"I don't know. Not very often. I haven't skipped in a long time. I just… I just know that wasn't the first time." I answered.

She sighed. "So if you haven't skipped in a long time, why yesterday?"

I took another cookie and dipped it in my glass of milk, more to buy some time than anything else.

"Paul needed to talk to me, a lot had happened the day before and he was pretty stressed out. He couldn't get a hold of me because Bobby went all crazy and refused to let me walk to school. Paul was sort of freaking out and he wanted me to calm him down." I said honestly.

"What happened the day before?" Ma inquired.

"He had a run in with some guys. No big deal." I answered.

It wasn't really lying, I just hadn't told the whole truth.

"Lexi!" Ma demanded.

"Paul got in a fight. Like an argument that got a little violent. He'd been having trouble with a group of guys for a while. They are of various ages and some of them go to his school. He usually tries not to get me involved in those kinds of fights but this time, I don't know, maybe he was scared. He called and no one was home so I told him to come over." I explained about what had happened two days earlier.

Ma stared at me; she seemed worried about where I was going with this.

"It was the first time he had ever been here." I said, hoping that would lessen the tension.

"So he had a beer to calm himself down?" Ma asked.

"No! It wasn't like that!" I defended quickly.

"Then how was it? Did you drink it Alexa?" Ma asked.

Ma hardly ever called me Alex; it was always Alexa or Lexi.

"Ma you know I'd never do that!" I pleaded.

"Well, I'd like to think that you wouldn't but right now I don't know what to think." She answered.

"I left with Paul; I didn't trust that he wouldn't get himself killed so I walked him home. While we were walking, the guys Paul was fighting with came up behind us. They're jerks. We got in a little bit of a fight. It was no big deal; I wasn't even bruised or cut up or anything. It was more screaming and yelling than anything. Paul got a little cut and bruised, but he wouldn't let anyone come near me." My story wasn't a complete lie, I had walked him home.

Ma handed me another cookie and nodded for me to continue.

"There were a lot of them so we were trying to get out of there as quick as possible. One of the guys had a beer bottle that he had set down. He was a jerk to start with so Paul and I hadn't wanted to see him drunk so as we were sneaking away Paul grabbed the bottle and put it in his bag. When we got to his house we realized his mom was home and he was worried that she would think he had been drinking so I took the bottle. When I got home I dumped it in the sink and went upstairs to finish homework, I had a headache and I guess I forgot that I left it on the counter." That was pretty much all a lie, but there was no way I could tell Ma the truth, not now, not ever.

"Why didn't you just tell Bobby that?" Ma asked.

"How could I? He wouldn't believe me! Even if he did he'd freak out! He'd be furious about Paul, furious that I almost got in a fight, furious that I had invited someone over without his permission, furious that I had left the house after he specifically told me not to! I mean, sheesh, he'd even be furious that I poured a good beer down the drain!" I complained.

"You do understand how this all could have been avoided right?" Ma said disapprovingly.

I looked down. "Yes Ma'am." I answered.

"You're grounded for a month and a half." Ma stated.

"What! Ma! A month and a half? That's not fair!" I pleaded.

"You would have been grounded for one month because of what happened at school today. That means you are only grounded for two weeks for all the rest of this. You skipped class on multiple occasions, you disobeyed your brother when he was in charge while I was gone and you lied to the entire family for six years. Still think I am being unreasonable?" Ma said sternly.

"No Ma'am." I said.

It really wasn't unreasonable at all.

"You are also going to write a three-page letter of apology to your principal." Ma added.

"No! I'm not apologizing to that jerk!" I shouted.

"Alexandria Mercer! You will apologize for what you did. It was completely uncalled for and childish and you will apologize to him!" Her voice was stern and I knew there was no room for negotiation.

I crossed my arms and looked away as I rolled my eyes.

"I also don't want you to be seeing this Paul anymore." Ma added, though with a slightly gentler tone of voice.

I looked up, "Ma, that isn't fair. He's my best friend! Give us another chance!" I begged.

"I don't think he brings out the best in you and so far you have given me no proof otherwise." Ma stated.

"Ma!" I cried.

"I need to go talk to your brother. Is there anything else Lexi?" She asked.

I shook my head, rage filling my body. "No, Ma'am." I answered.

**Hope you liked it! Sorry if it was a little boring. Planning to update soon I've got a little bit of writers block, so I apologize. Anyway, I was planning to make it longer but I am trying to annoy my best friend! She was complaining a bunch of the stories on her alert list all updated at the same time so now she doesn't know which to read first. Let's just make that decision a little harder. Hehe! You can all thank her because she is my motivation! Either way, I'll try to update soon but like I said, writers block sucks! Well, hope you liked it and don't forget to review, good or bad. Thanks! **

**Ducttapeladybugsandboredom**


	10. Can We All Just Get Along?

**Hi! I am so sorry I haven't updated in forever! Huge thanks to Readergirl66, InAColdBlast, ComicGeek, and Niyah123 for the awesome reviews! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Four Brothers.**

Was Ma serious? She really wasn't going to let me see Paul anymore? Tears filled my eyes as I put my headphones on and blasted the music. I sat on my bed and stared longingly out the window. Song after song played on my mp3, I just let the music play, not skipping a single song. Time passed quickly, for my head was filled with dizzying thoughts.

It wasn't until Ma returned to my room that I consciously realized I had stopped crying. I still felt the same pain that I had felt before but, I suppose, I had just run out of tears.

I took my headphones off and turned to her, wishing she couldn't see my tear stained cheeks.

"It's twelve o'clock so I figured I'd bring you lunch." She said before passing me a sandwich that appeared to contain turkey, lettuce and cheese.

Twelve o'clock? That meant that I'd been sitting there for over two hours!

"Thanks." I said numbly, forcing a fake smile.

Ma walked over and kissed me on the top of the head.

"You know I love you, right?" She asked, smiling gently.

I nodded slowly, "Love you, Ma." I added.

She smiled again. "You can bring your plate to the kitchen when you come down for supper." She mentioned.

I nodded, knowing that was just her way of reminding me to stay in my room until she called me down.

After she left I put one of my ear buds back in and took a tiny bite from the sandwich, it was delicious, as was everything else that Ma makes, too bad I couldn't seem to enjoy it.

Still munching on the sandwich I turned back towards the window. I ate my sandwich slowly, taking one tiny bite at a time.

I could still hear Angel's voice from when he told me he hated me, still see the anger In Jack's electric blue eyes from when he found me with Paul, still feel the tension between Jack and me from when we sat together in the office. I couldn't get a single bit of it out of my head and if it didn't kill me, it would most certainly drive me insane.

Outside, I watched as a middle-aged man pushed a stroller, a young woman walked her three dogs and an elderly couple held hands as they crossed the street. The day seemed so peaceful, so calm. It didn't seem possible that on this kind looking day, my whole world could have come crashing down.

I finished my sandwich and glanced at the clock on my bedside table. 1:30 p.m. Had it honestly taken me and hour and a half to finish a single sandwich?

Getting bored with the view outside I decided to concentrate on the music that was still blasting in my ears. I continued to stare out the window as I began to recognize the song that had just started playing.

_"It's like you're standing over me,_

_With a match and a bottle of kerosene,_

_Never knew you'd bloom into a psycho,_

_Getting ready to set me aflame._

_I won't forgive and I won't forget,_

_You killed the cause of compassion._

_You hypocrite, you counterfeit,_

_I'm done with this because I can see what you are,_

_Liar and you burn me worse than fire,_

_It happens every time._

_We burn, burn, burn,_

_Burn, burn, burn,_

_I should've known you were a liar._

_Liar and you burn me worse than fire,_

_It happens every time._

_We burn, burn, burn,_

_Burn, burn, burn_

_I should've known you were a liar._

_You are the scars all over me,_

_The mess left from the secrets that you keep,_

_Didn't know you were slowly going psycho,_

_I am the ash of your blaze._

_Getting ready to set me aflame._

_I won't forgive and I won't forget,_

_You killed the cause of compassion,_

_You hypocrite, you counterfeit,_

_I'm done with this because I can see what you are._

_Liar and you burn me worse than fire,_

_It happens every time._

_We burn, burn, burn,_

_Burn, burn, burn,_

_I should've known you were a liar._

_Liar and you burn me worse than fire,_

_It happens every time._

_We burn, burn, burn,_

_Burn, burn, burn,_

_I should've known you were a liar._

_The smoke has cleared away,_

_Along with all my fame,_

_Nothing to believe in._

_You choke on things you say,_

_Because all your words are fake._

_Nothing to believe in._

_Liar and you burn me worse than fire."_

The song Liar by Egypt Central was almost over when my bedroom door, which, thanks to Bobby was actually the closet door and had no lock, opened. I glanced over to the door in time to see Jack enter my room.

_Good timing._ I thought bitterly before turning away.

"You ok?" He asked, awkwardly.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" I lied.

He walked closer to me. "I don't know. I guess you just seemed pretty broken up this morning… you know… like in the library."

I allowed myself to make eye contact with my brother for a split second.

"Oh that." I paused, "I was hoping you wouldn't notice."

Part of me wanted him to know how I felt and because of this, I accidently let my guard down.

He sighed and opened his mouth as though he was going to say something but I cut him off.

"I'm fine Jack. Honestly, don't worry about it." I clarified.

"Alex, you know you can tell me anything." He stated.

I watched from the corner of my eye as Jack walked over to my flipped over picture frame. He picked it up and looked at the picture. When he saw that it was the picture that was taken the day after my adoption he breathed a heavy sigh, flipped it back the right way and placed it back on my bedside table.

I turned back towards the window, sharply, unable to hold back the tears.

"You sure you're ok?" He asked.

I couldn't answer; I knew the tears would choke out my words. I sat there quietly staring out the window, putting all my energy into preventing myself from shaking.

_So much for running out of tears…_ I thought in frustration with myself.

"You aren't ok at all, are you?" Jack asked suddenly.

I gasped. Covering my face with my hands, I shook my head. My reaction wasn't intentional; it was as though some alternate force had taken complete control of my body.

Jack sat down on my bed and pulled me over towards him. For the second time that day, my older brother did something he hadn't done in years; he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into a hug and for the second time that day, I was completely astonished.

I tried to stop the crying in order to, at least look at him but with all my strength I found it helplessly impossible. Jack kept hugging me and, to my relief, didn't say a word.

I'll never know exactly how long I sat there, crying uncontrollably. I do know, however, how safe I felt in my brother's arms. After all the confusion and pain I had felt for the last 24 hours, cuddled up in Jack's arms made me feel like none of that mattered, at least, not until I thought about it.

Eventually, my waterfall of tears slowed and I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down. Jack continued to hug and I heard him sigh softly.

_"Do you think having you as a little sister is such a picnic?"_ Angel's voice yelled in my head.

I cringed and pulled away from Jack.

"What's the matter?" Jack asked, sounding concerned.

I didn't answer.

"What's the matter?" He repeated.

"Nothing, Jack." I said, shaking my head.

"Alex, what's the matter?" Jack asked again.

I had to tell him, he wouldn't let it go if didn't.

I suppose, I could just lie… I thought silently to myself before remembering where my lies had gotten me last time.

No, I needed to tell him.

"No matter what I do, I just can't get his voice out of my head! I can't stop hearing Angel's stupid voice!" I cried, grabbing my head in hopes that it would stop pounding.

"Are you talking about what happened yesterday?" Jack asked slowly and calmly.

I didn't answer, I just shut my eyes.

Jack sighed, seemingly unsurprised, and pulled me back towards him.

"Al, he didn't mean that. He was just mad, really, really mad! Can you blame him?" Jack stated.

"Not even one of you stood up in my defense." I reported.

"You weren't exactly giving us much to defend you with!" He argued.

I bit my lip, nervously looking away.

"I swear we didn't mean a word of it, but I mean you kind of had it coming to you." He commented.

I shot him a quick, annoyed glance but didn't answer.

"Come on, Alex! You know you mean the world to us! I mean, you're our little sister!" He reasoned, "I swear. We wouldn't ever say anything like that and mean it! If we hated you that much we'd just arrange that you were hit by a train or something."

I laughed, "Thanks?"

"Well, seeing as you haven't been hit by a train yet, you should be good." He smiled at me.

I smiled but looked down.

"We really did mean it when we apologized yesterday." He added.

I shot him a 'how stupid do you think I am?' look.

He laughed. "Really, we did! If it helps, I'll apologize again. You can't really blame us for being frustrated with you!"

I shrugged. "I guess not."

"I'm sorry anyway." He said.

He leaned back against the wall and I slid over to cuddle up beside him. He put his arm around me, almost protectively.

"Angel would never mean to hurt you. You're his whole world. You two are really close. Everyone thought that if this sort of thing came up, you'd tell him." Jack mentioned.

"Everyone including Angel… I should have told him…" I added regretfully.

Jack and I sat in silence for a while, leaning up against the same wall we had been up against the day the older three had left us home alone.

Finally Jack turned to me.

"Can I ask you a question?" He asked.

"You didn't leave me much choice there." I teased.

"Why didn't you tell us?" He asked.

I shrugged. "I guess I was just worried you guys would freak out."

"Can I ask you something else?" He pried.

I shrugged again.

He paused.

"Your bruises…" He started.

"You already asked that one." I acknowledged.

"… I know… but… I …I just wanted to know…" His voice trailed off.

"Yeah." I answered.

"What?" He looked at me.

"Yes, they're from you guys," I clarified, "at least for the most part. I guess I was right, huh? About you guys freaking out?" I turned to look at him.

Pain filled his eyes.

"I guess…" He paused, "This is the first time, I mean from us, right?"

"No." I declared.

He looked utterly shocked, "No?"

"No, Cracker Jack, it's not." I repeated.

He swallowed. "Is this the worst?"

"No, I don't think so." I said casually.

"I never realized…" There was a strange tone in his voice.

"Don't worry about it. It doesn't bother me." I stated.

He ignored my comment.

"I guess Mr. Adam wasn't too far off with the abuse thing… He just picked the wrong person…" Jack mumbled.

I turned around to look at him. "You guys aren't abusing me, Jack! I fight with people all the time, it's no big deal! It's just a couple bruises, no big deal!"

"That's more than a couple." His voice sounded pained and regretful.

"It doesn't bother me, Jack! I know you guys don't mean anything by it!" I argued.

"Maybe it should bother you!" He was shaking.

"Jack, listen to me, brothers and sisters fight all the time! They always have. I know you guys aren't trying to hurt me and it doesn't cause me pain. It never bothered me except yesterday." I pointed out.

He focused his attention on me.

"I wasn't even worried about me. I mean, I sort of was because you guys were so mad, but not because I am scared of you guys, but because I knew how much I screwed up! The thing that I was worried about was you." I said, pleadingly.

"Me?" He asked.

"Yeah, you; you are hardly ever violent and yesterday you went completely insane! What got into you?" I demanded.

I was sure he knew exactly what I was talking about, for he immediately looked down.

I waited for him to talk, refusing to say anything until he explained himself. This was a strategy I often used with Paul.

"I got into some trouble and I was pretty stressed out. I did some things I shouldn't have." He said finally.

I knew this wasn't the whole story, but I also knew he didn't really owe me the whole story just yet. I hadn't been being honest with anyone, so I really couldn't force Jack to be completely honest with me, at least not yet. I would though; it was just a matter of time.

Jack and I sat in silence for a while until I brought up some lighter topics that really had nothing to do with anything, such as sports and whether in various countries around the world. We were both laughing within minutes, but our casual conversation didn't last long, for, almost half an hour after it had begun we heard the front door slam.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Jack glanced out my bedroom window, "It's them." He confirmed when he saw Bobby's car.

"I'll deal with Bobby and Angel. You deal with Jerry. Fair?" He teased.

"NO!" I argued.

"Three weeks? What did she do?" We heard someone shout from downstairs.

A few minutes later we heard three pairs of feet rush up the stairs.

"Ready?" I asked, Jack.

"Nope." I said bluntly.

"Me neither." I smiled sheepishly.

My door burst open.

"How stupid are you?" Angel demanded of me.

"Take it easy!" Jack shouted.

I squeezed his hand for comfort.

"Punching the principal? I mean, sheesh, that's like, Bobby stupid!" Angel joked.

I looked up to see smiles on Bobby's and Angel's faces. Jerry however, looked less amused.

"Threatening the principal?" Angel turned his attention to Jack, "How do you feel knowing that your little sister was the one to fill out the threat?" Angel teased him.

"We certainly left the Mercer name in good hands!" Bobby laughed.

Jack and I both smiled; pleased that they understood.

Jack sighed, "Jer, I know you're all about 'being mature and responsible' and all that other junk, but we had a good reason."

"You should have heard what he was saying!" I pleaded with Jerry, finally allowing myself to speak.

Bobby's face suddenly turned to anger, "What was he saying exactly? I mean, I know the just." He said.

"He was deducing that Ma was abusing us. Apparently, it wasn't the first time he's done this to Lex." Jack explained but he was looking at Jerry, even though Bobby had asked the question.

I shot Jack a look, I wasn't in the mood to try and explain anything to my three oldest brothers.

"Really?" Angel asked, looking at me.

I turned to him, but looked away without answering. I knew he got the picture.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Bobby asked.

"Tell you what?" I asked.

"Tell us to go kick the living pulp out of your principal. Bobby probably wouldn't have even asked questions!" It was Jerry who spoke.

Everyone laughed, and when I turned to Jerry, he too was smiling.

"Your reason is justified." He stated.

Everyone laughed again.

It felt good to laugh; to see them laugh with me took all my pain and fear away. I knew the fear would remain, but it would remain hidden at the bottom of everything else, just the coals to the fire that once burned a hole through my heart.

"Think he'll press charges?" Jerry asked, concerned.

Jack and I shrugged.

"He can't if we kill him." Bobby stated casually.

I laughed.

"I hate that man! He's such an -"Angel started.

"Kids! Supper!" Ma yelled.

"That woman has impeccable timing!" Angel laughed.

Together, we all walked down to the dining room, as a family.

Supper was pretty awkward, knowing that everyone was still mad at me, I could still hear the distant echo of Angel's voice but it grew less insistent. More than anything, Jack and I knew that Ma was still very disappointed in us, so for the most part supper was pretty quiet, something that rarely happened in this house, my home.

"Jackson and Alexandria, you two should go begin your letters of apology to the principal." Ma suggested once everyone was done their supper.

Jack and I might have been stupid enough to threaten our principal, but we weren't stupid enough to argue with Ma. Without any complaints we both headed upstairs.

Once alone in my room I pulled out some paper and a pen and sat at my desk to begin the letter.

_Dear Mr. Adam,_

_I am deeply sorry for my out of line behavior. It was uncalled for and I am willing to accept any punishment you find suitable._

I started to write but I couldn't focus on faking an apology. I sat at my desk, trying to focus.

_Though, what you said was also out of line, _

I re-read my three lines. I knew Ma would never accept that so I crumpled up the paper and threw it in the recycling beside my desk.

_Dear Mr. Adam,_

_I am deeply sorry for YOUR out of line behavior. You had no right to_

I stopped. Writing a letter of apology while I was still mad probably wasn't going to go over too well. I crumpled it up.

Looking at the blank piece of paper I took a deep breath, trying to think before I wrote. I sat there thinking for quite a while before I decided to begin the letter the same as the first one but stop before I ruined it.

_Dear Mr. Adam,_

_I am deeply sorry for my out of line behavior. It was sincerely uncalled for and I am willing to accept any punishment that you may find suitable._

I paused, having no idea where to continue from here.

_What I did was inexcusable and immature, and for that I am sorry._

I crumpled it up; more out of frustration than the fact that I didn't like it.

_Dear Mr. Adam,_

I started again.

_I am writing you today to apologize for my recent behavior. It was clearly out of line and I should not have done it. I understand that what I did was sincerely uncalled for and I am willing to accept any punishment that you may find suitable. What I did was inexcusable and completely immature, and for that, I am deeply sorry._

I paused to re-read it.

_I am aware of the possible consequences and, due to my childish behavior, I find that none are too severe. _

I rolled my eyes, knowing the principal would like that lie.

My mind was blank; there was only so much fake apology one could write.

I glanced at the clock: 11:56 PM. I yawned; it had been a long day.

I stood up, subconsciously deciding what I was about to do. Leaving my room, I took a deep breath as I walked towards the kitchen where I knew Ma would still be up. I was surprised when none of the boys were downstairs but I was more or less relieved.

"Is something the matter, Alexa?" Ma asked when she saw me.

"Ma, I was wondering… Could I have a friend over tomorrow…? I was supposed to help with math and…" I started.

"Excuse me? What part of grounded do you not understand?" Ma asked in utter disbelief.

I took a deep breath. "I know… but… It's Paul…" I said.

Ma turned to look at me.

I swallowed. "I know what you are thinking but… I just thought… maybe if you got to know him… We wouldn't be going anywhere, we'd stay here and do homework… and you would get the chance to meet him… and… he's my best friend… and…" I pleaded.

"Well… I guess that would work…" Ma said.

"Really?" I asked, smiling slightly.

"Well yes, if he could stay for supper so that we could meet him, the boys will be here of course." She pointed out.

I swallowed.

"After we meet him then we will make up our decision about whether he is a suitable person for you to hang out with. Good deal?" She asked.

"Thanks, Ma! You're the best!" I smiled.

I picked up my phone and dialed the number.

"Alex?" Paul sounded worried.

"Hey!" I stalled, avoiding asking the question.

"Where were you after school?" He asked.

I took a deep breath, if I didn't ask I would never be able to see him again.

"It's a long story… I'll explain tomorrow… if you'll come here for supper and …uh… meet my family…" I asked.

"Meet your family? Alex, are you ok?" He teased, but sounded slightly concerned.

"No." I stated, "But bring your math textbook and I'll help you out. Ok?"

"Uh… Yeah, ok, I'll be there." He said.

I smiled, "Alright, I'll see you tomorrow."

I hung up the phone and went upstairs. I laid down on my bed and forced myself into a restless sleep, tomorrow was going to be a big day.

**Sorry if it kind of dragged on! The next chapter will have a bit more action/comedy! I promise! Either way, please review, good or bad! Hope you liked it and I am looking forward to updating soon! **

**Ducttapeandladybugsandboredo m**


	11. Preparing Myself

**Hey guys! Sorry it took me so long to update! Huge thanks to RebornRose1992 and Sundance1989 for the reviews! Enjoy!**

I slept in. When I glanced at the clock it was almost 2:00pm. Ma hadn't thought of what to do with Jack and me yet, so for today, we got to stay home. I walked downstairs and was surprised to see Jack already awake and sitting on the couch.

"Morning, Sleepy-Head, are you going to make me breakfast?" He asked and stood up.

I looked over at him, and, to my disgust, he was wearing nothing but boxers.

"Woah! Fairy, nobody wants to see that! Gosh, put some clothes on, that's disgusting!" I screamed, quickly shielding my eyes.

He just chuckled and sat back down on the couch. Rolling my eyes, I headed towards the kitchen to make myself some breakfast.

Living with four guys all under the age of thirty, you got used to seeing them walk around wearing nothing but boxers… or, occasionally, nothing at all… but that didn't make it any less disturbing.

I pulled out the frying pan and placed it on the stove, preparing to make bacon and scrambled eggs. I concentrated on the meal, doing my best to distract myself from the nightmare that would be suppertime.

I scooped all of the food into my plate and sat down at the counter. Jack walked in, casually grabbed the plate out of my hands and sat down at the seat beside me. He took a forkful of eggs and smiled at me.

"That was kind of Bobby-like, was it not?" I asked, frustrated.

"Right, but punching the principal wasn't?" He answered, cockily.

I punched him in the arm but started to make more breakfast, deciding not to bother stealing mine back from Cracker Jack.

"So, I hear you are having your 'friend' over tonight?" He added when I was done and sitting beside him again.

I glanced at him but chose not to answer.

"Where are the other guys?" I asked instead.

"Ma had arranged for them to help out somewhere, it's been planned for like two weeks apparently." He said.

I swallowed a mouthful of egg and looked at him, "Wait, so, we get suspended but yet we still get the better end of the deal? How does that happen?" I laughed.

He smiled before adding, "I bet it won't last long though…"

I nodded sullenly.

Jack was right. Naturally, there was no way that we were going to get off the hook easily.

I finished my breakfast and stood up to wash the dishes, after all, a little sucking up couldn't hurt. I heard the vacuum turn on and I knew Jack was thinking the same thing.

There were a lot of dishes but there always were. Bobby and Angel never seemed to stop eating. Ever.

I washed the cutlery first, then the plates, then the glasses and then the pots, pans and etc. It was boring work but at least it kept my mind somewhat busy.

Jack began to blast music but, being used to his heavy-metal/punk-rock style, I ignored it.

Once the dishes were washed and rinsed I dried them off and put them back where they belonged. I glanced at the clock and realized there was still plenty of time before everyone else would be home so I kept washing. First the counter tops, then the cupboards and then the floor. I even almost died while dusting the ceiling fan because Jack came and pushed the chair I was standing on, causing me to fall and almost smack my head on the corner of the counter.

I had just finished when I caught myself singing along to some of Cracker Jack's music. Apparently, there were some songs that I actually liked, most of which, however, weren't things that I'd normally hear him listening to.

I walked into the living room just as You Give Love a Bad Name by Bon Jovi started to play.

_"Shot through the heart, and you're to blame,_

_Darling, you give love a bad name. _

_An angel's smile is what you sell, _

_You promise me heaven, then put me through Hell._

_Chains of love got a hold on me, _

_When passions a prison, you can't break free._

_Oh, you're a loaded gun, yeah, _

_Oh, there's nowhere to run, _

_No one can save me, _

_The damage is done. _

_Shot through the heart, _

_And you're to blame, _

_You give love a bad name (bad name). _

_I play my part and you play your game, _

_You give love a bad name (bad name),_

_You give love, a bad name. _

_Paint your smile on your lips, _

_Blood red nails on your fingertips. _

_A school boy's dream, you act so shy, _

_Your very first kiss was your first kiss goodbye. _

_Oh, you're a loaded gun, _

_Oh, there's nowhere to run, _

_No one can save me, _

_The damage is done. _

_Shot through the heart, _

_And you're to blame, _

_You give love a bad name (bad name). _

_I play my part and you play your game, _

_You give love a bad name (bad name). _

_You give love, oh! _

_Oh! _

_Shot through the heart, _

_And you're to blame, _

_You give love a bad name. _

_I play my part and you play your game, _

_You give love a bad name (bad name). _

_Shot through the heart, _

_And you're to blame, _

_You give love a bad name (bad name). _

_I play my part and you play your game, _

_You give love a bad name (bad name). _

_You give love, _

_You give love (bad name), _

_You give love, _

_You give love (bad name), _

_You give love, _

_You give love (bad name), _

_You give love,"_

Jack and I both shouted the lyrics at the top of our lungs. We burst out laughing and casually turned our heads, only to see a very confused looking Bobby standing at the front door. Immediately, Jack and I stopped laughing.

Bobby gave us a strange looked and rolled his eyes before heading upstairs to his room without a word to either of us.

Jack and I burst out laughing again as Jack went to turn off the stereo. He put the vacuum away and we both headed to our separate rooms without saying a thing.

I shut my bedroom door; still laughing I pulled out a green t-shirt from my closet and a pair of jeans from my dresser and quickly got dressed.

As I headed to the bathroom to brush my teeth and hair I heard the door slam. Once. Twice. Angel and Jerry were home. Then I heard the door open and close gently, Ma was home.

Before leaving the bathroom I splashed my face with ice cold water, trying to hide the stress that I felt.

I walked downstairs, a forced smile pasted on my face.

"Hey Ma!" I said, rushing up to hug her.

"Why, hello dear!" She smiled and hugged me back.

"How was work?" I asked eagerly.

"Not overly exciting today, but I suppose that's not a bad thing." She smiled.

I laughed a little and she released me from her hug.

"I was thinking about making spaghetti for supper when your friend comes. Would that be alright?" She asked politely.

I heard Jerry chuckle a little and I had to fight to keep my body from tensing up.

I nodded, "Yeah, sounds great Ma. Love you!" I said before turning to the boys and adding, "All of you guys are going to be here for supper?"

"We wouldn't miss it for the world!" Bobby said with a cocky tone as he walked down the stairs followed by Jack.

"You say 'all of you' as though there are so many of us. There are only four of us you know." Jerry added, turning to me with a half-joking, half-serious look on his face.

"Four too many." I mumbled, starting to head up the stairs.

"Alex!" Ma warned.

Gosh, that woman has ears like a hawk!

"Sorry." I shouted down the stairs before entering my room.

I stared at myself in the mirror.

"Ok Alex, Paul is coming to meet the rest of the Mercer's. That's final and there is nothing you can do about it now, you already called him. He will be here any minute; it's too late to cancel. Besides, if he doesn't come, you'll never be able to see him again. He has to come, but it's ok, you will live through this. Paul will make a good impression, don't worry, it will all turn out great!" I told myself encouragingly, even though I didn't believe a word of it.

There was a knock at the door.

"I'll get it!" I yelled.

I took a deep breath and rushed down the stairs.

**So sorry that I stopped it here but my computer is dying and it won't let me save! Don't worry, I promise that I will have the next chapter up by the end of the month! I am excited for the next chapter so I hope it turns out the way I want. As soon as I can charge my computer I will write it and have it up for you guys as soon as possible! Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! Don't forget to review!**

**Ducttapeandladybugsandboredo m**


	12. Welcome to the End

**As promised, it is up before the end of the month! Huge thanks to RebornRose1992, RaidenTakashixx and ILoveAnime89 for the reviews, it means a lot! Anyway, hope you enjoy it! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Four Brothers**

I opened the door as all four of my brothers got off the couch.

Paul stood there, wearing black dress pants, a gray shirt with a collar and a burgundy tie. His hair was brushed back neatly and his backpack was slung casually over his shoulder.

"Paul." I said in disbelief.

I stared at him. The boy cleans up good!

He smiled, "Hey, Alex."

I slid out of the way, inviting him in. He stepped into the house and I took a deep breath, there was no backing out now.

"Welcome to… the end." I said nervously.

Paul turned to me, "The end of what?" he asked as he finished removing his shiny black dress shoes.

"Well, that depends on which of my brothers we are referring to. Come on." I walked toward my four threatening older brothers who were standing in a straight line where the entrance met the living room.

"Well, you've already met Jack. He just happens to represent the end of my life." I began.

Jack shot me a look but he and Paul shook hands anyway, a much better greeting than the first one had been.

"This one is Angel. Well, he's more like a representation of the end of your life." I said.

Angel and Paul shook hands.

"This is Jerry. The end of anything fun." I said.

Jerry shoved me roughly before proceeding to shake Paul's hand.

"And last and least-" I started with a smirk.

Bobby smacked me upside the head.

"OW!" I said and hit him back. "Meet Bobby. The end of… well, pretty much the end of the entire universe."

Bobby smiled, seemingly content with the introduction I had given him and he proceeded to shake Paul's hand.

"I'm pleased to meet you all!" Paul said enthusiastically.

"I wish we could say the same." All four of my brothers said in unison.

"Guys! Don't do that! Were you rehearsing this or something?" I demanded, thoroughly freaked out.

Bobby smiled, "Aw, Al, the truth doesn't need to be rehearsed." He stated.

Paul swallowed nervously.

_Fantastic! This is off to a great start!_ I thought sarcastically.

The boys retreated, a little, allowing Paul and me to enter the living room.

"So, Lex, aren't you going to give him a tour?" Angel asked, in a tone of fake kindness.

I opened my mouth to speak but I was cut off.

"Don't worry I got one last time." Paul smiled, gently putting his backpack down on the floor.

Jerry was quick to jump at that one. "Right, last time, and when was that again, Alex?" He asked.

I shut my eyes and bit my lip, willing myself to not smack Paul.

"Three days ago?" Jack asked coldly.

Jack must have heard Paul and me talking that day behind the pizza place.

I ran a hand through my hair nervously, "Sounds about right." I said slowly.

This was off to a rough start and, judging by the death glares I was receiving from my older brothers, there wasn't much hope that it was going to get any better.

Bobby opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by Ma who entered the room at precisely that moment.

Ma was wearing an apron and drying her hands on a dish towel. There was a kind smile on her face and her eyes were welcoming. Looking at her, I relaxed a little.

"Paul, this is my Ma. Ma, this is Paul." I introduced.

"Well, for a mother of five children I was certainly picturing someone much older." Paul flattered.

"Oh well aren't you sweet! It's a pleasure to meet you." She said to Paul before turning to me and adding, "Supper should be ready in about 45 minutes."

I nodded and smiled at her.

"Do you need a hand?" Paul offered.

"Oh good gracious, no, you are the guest, sit down and relax! But thank you for the offer." Ma smiled before returning to the kitchen.

"Suck up." Angel muttered with a cough.

"I'm allowed to do a little sucking up aren't I?" Paul asked. "After all, I have six years to make up for."

I took a deep breath and pursed my lips, knowing what was coming.

"Six years?" Bobby asked, looking at me with a curious and dangerous expression.

I exhaled, "Ma knew about that!" I defended quickly.

"It doesn't count if you told her yesterday!" Angel spat, his fists were clenched.

I stepped back; the look in Angel's eyes was terrifying, it was similar to the one I had seen two days ago. I turned to Jack, looking for sympathy that wasn't there.

"Well, since these introductions went so well, I think we should get a start on that homework, what do you think, Paul?" I asked, but I had a feeling that my brothers weren't listening.

"Sure." He shrugged, picking up his bag.

I walked to the kitchen, Paul following close behind me.

"Ma, mind if Paul and I go upstairs to do the math homework he brought?" I asked.

She turned to me.

"I mean, the guys are great and all, but…." I said sarcastically.

She smiled, "Go ahead."

"Thanks, Ma." I smiled back and Paul and I left the room.

As we reached the staircase Paul headed up, a few steps before me but I wasn't far behind. I was focusing on the stairs, trying not to trip; I was a bit of a klutz when I was nervous. I got up about three steps when I felt myself being yanked backwards. I turned around to see Bobby holding the back of my shirt in a death grip.

"Where do you think you're going exactly?" Jerry asked in mock politeness.

I struggled out of Bobby's grasp before turning to face them, "Upstairs to do homework." I answered calmly.

"You can do homework right there." Jack said matter-of-factly, pointing to the coffee table in the middle of the living room floor.

"With the four of you breathing down our necks and spitting out snide comments the whole time? Dream on!" I laughed, turning to head back up the stairs.

Bobby grabbed my shirt again, this time shoving me into the railing so I could face him without moving.

I was surprised to see that Paul made zero effort to save me from my psychopath older brothers. Although Paul wouldn't have won the fight and, Jack, Jerry and Bobby would have practically tried to kill him for 'trying to tell them how to treat their little sister', had he stuck up for me, it probably would have won Angel over.

"Fine Bobby," I commented coldly, "if you want us to stay down here so bad YOU can help Paul with his homework. It's Grade Nine Math, which should be perfect for you since you only failed that class three times!"

He glared at me and his grip tightened.

"You think acting like a snob is going to help your case?" Jerry asked calmly, as though he was really expecting an answer.

"No, but this will…" I stated before screaming, "MA!"

Ma rushed in from the kitchen, "Boys, enough! Leave your sister alone, her and her friend are trying to do homework!" She said sternly.

I shot Jerry a cocky smile.

Bobby tightened his grip and pulled me closer. "Door stays open!" He whispered the order into my ear.

"I know." I glared.

He shoved me roughly back towards the stairs. I merely rolled my eyes and fixed my shirt before rushing up to my room ere they changed their minds.

I followed Paul into my room.

"They seem… nice." Paul said.

"Oh yeah, they're fantastic." I replied sarcastically while I quietly shut my bedroom door, despite Bobby's warning

I spun around to stare at Paul "By the way, were you trying to get me killed?" I demanded.

"Huh?" He asked.

"'Don't worry I got a tour last time' 'I need to suck up because I didn't get to for the last six years'" I mocked.

"I was trying to be helpful!" He defended, pulling out his math textbook.

"Well cut it out!" I laughed before adding, "So, what's with the get-up?"

He looked down at his clothes, "I thought… if you were going to let me meet your family… something must be pretty serious. I figured I'd at least try to make a good impression."

I smiled, "Thanks! I just didn't know that you were actually capable of cleaning yourself up!"

He laughed and sat down on the chair in the corner of my room, opening his textbook and frowning at the page in confusion.

I sat down on my bed and pulled out my math textbook. Although we didn't go to the same school, our textbooks were the same, the whole school division had the same math textbooks.

"Page 78." He groaned.

I flipped to the page, skimmed over the explanations, and began reading it to him, reminding him of terms that we had gone over two weeks ago.

Paul nodded along, not that that meant he understood a word I was saying.

There was a knock on the door and I paused before saying, "Come in!"

Ma walked in, carrying a tray that held a plate of chocolate chip cookies, a pitcher of lemonade and two glasses.

"Supper will be a little longer than I thought so I figured I'd bring you two a snack." She said gently.

"Thanks Ma. Is supper really going to be later or were you just checking up on us?" I teased, not believing her lie for a second.

"Well… I was just…" Ma said sounding slightly embarrassed.

I laughed, "Its ok! Better you than one of the guys."

She smiled and put the tray down on my desk where neither Paul nor I were sitting. "How is the math coming?" She asked.

"It's agonizingly painful!" Paul complained.

I threw a pillow at him, "Quit whining! I don't have to help you next time!" I reminded him.

Ma laughed, "I was never really a math person either. You kids let me know if you need anything!"

"Thanks Ma!" I said.

"Thanks for the cookies Ms. Evelyn" Paul said.

Leaving the room, she left the door open a crack. Being myself, I considered getting up to shut it but thought better of it.

I handed Paul a cookie and poured us each a glass of lemonade.

He took a bite of the cookie, "This is delicious!" He exclaimed.

I laughed, grabbing a cookie for myself, "Ma's the greatest cook!"

We returned to math, chatting and munching on cookies in the meantime.

Paul slid off the chair, lying on the floor instead; he spread his papers out around him, showing me his work. I stretched out on the bed to look at the papers below me. I rolled my eyes as I pointed out several questions he had done miserably wrong.

"Shut up!" He grumbled, "I hate math!"

I just laughed and tried to re-explain one of the questions.

There was a knock at the door.

"Yeah?" I asked without looking up, assuming it was Ma.

"Supper's ready." Jerry's voice came from the door.

I turned my attention to him. He had a curious expression on his face that made me roll my eyes.

Paul put his math work away and stood up. As I got off my bed to stand beside him, I couldn't help but notice Jerry sizing him up.

I chuckled to myself and headed downstairs between Paul and Jerry.

I sat down at the supper table and pointed to a spot beside me for Paul.

Ma walked in, carrying the spaghetti, followed by Jack who was carrying salad and Bobby carrying garlic bread.

"Don't have to worry about going hungry around here!" I joked.

The meal began and everyone filled their plates with Ma`s delicious cooking. For a while it was even quiet!

To my dismay, Ma finally broke the silence. "So, Paul, what do you want to be when you grow up?" She asked.

"I was thinking of becoming a lawyer actually." He answered.

Bobby gave me a look, "A lawyer hanging out with a Mercer?" He asked skeptically.

"Your best friend is a cop. Why can't mine be a lawyer? It might come in handy don't you think?" I argued.

Bobby must have agreed because he shut up.

"So, how did you two meet? If you remember of course, six years is a long time." Jerry asked Paul but he didn't refrain from shooting me a look when he said 'six years'.

"We met through a mutual enemy actually." Paul answered. "You know, they say that people with common interests don't necessarily get along but people that hate the same things often do. That's exactly how it worked with Alex and me.

This seemed to catch the attention of my brothers.

"You see, there were these brothers, the youngest was about 12, the oldest one about 20 and then there were two in between somewhere. They wanted us both dead, her more than me actually. We had never met before that." Paul continued the story.

_Anytime you want to stop being 'helpful' that would be fantastic, Paul!_ I thought, wishing he could read my mind.

My brothers seemed frustrated, probably by the fact that I had never told them this.

"What did two nine year olds do to make a twenty year old mad?" Bobby asked, sounding surprised.

Paul shrugged, "I don't remember anymore." He turned to me, "Do you?"

"No," I shook my head, "I think they understand though." I elbowed Paul in the rib; I wanted him to stop telling that story as quickly as possible.

Paul looked at me but didn't say anything.

Jack tried to look me in the eye but I turned away so he put his attention on Paul instead, "Do you know their names?" He asked.

"Man, I should know this! Their last name was… Keillback? Kylran? Hmm… It started with a 'K' anyway. Do you remember, Alex?" Paul asked me.

Apparently he hadn't taken the hint.

I shrugged, "Can't say that I do. Sorry."

"I mean, I'm just saying, these brothers sound about our age and there are four of them right? You'd think we would have crossed paths at some point." Jack said, staring at me again.

I swallowed, willing Jack to shut up, "All I know is, those guys wanted me dead and Paul is the only reason I am here." I said.

Paul smiled and, to my relief, Jack dropped the subject.

"So, six years and we've never even met you? When do you guys see each other?" Jerry asked.

Jerry mentioned 'six years' in every question he asked, he was trying to get to me, the worst part was, it was working.

"Uh… Before or after school mostly." Paul answered.

"And you never once asked about her family?" Bobby asked.

"Guys! This is supper not a job interview!" I complained.

"Face it, Lex, supper with the Mercer's is much more grueling than any job interview." Jack joked.

I noticed that Angel hadn't said a word. On another occasion, I might have called him on it, but at that moment, his silence didn't seem like a bad thing.

"Now seriously, answer the question." Bobby pressed.

Paul looked slightly uncomfortable but he kept his cool, "Actually, I knew a lot about you guys."

"You knew a lot about us but you still thought we'd be cool with you keeping this secret for six years?" Jack asked in distaste.

"And coax our little sister into skipping class?" Jerry added.

Paul opened his mouth, clearly unsure how to respond.

"Ma!" I complained, shocked that she was letting them be this rude.

"Alright boys, that's quite enough!" She said.

I exhaled, frustrated. I wanted to tell Paul to just stop answering their questions but I knew he had to make a good impression. What would happen if they decided Paul wasn't a person I should be hanging around with? What would I do then? Would I lie to my whole family again and see him behind their back? Or would I actually stop seeing him? I didn't want to think of that, I didn't want that to be the result, but how could I assure that Paul was making a good impression?

Angel. The answer was Angel. He would be the deciding vote because he knew me better than any of my other brothers, but right now, it looked like his mind was already made up.

Everyone finished eating and Ma told us to go visit in the living room while she cleaned up. Once again, Paul offered to give her a hand and, once again, she politely declined.

We all thanked Ma for supper and began heading into the living room. In the living room I sat down on the couch and Paul sat down beside me.

"Start up a conversation with Angel." I whispered.

Bobby walked into the living room after us, he glanced at Paul and me, sitting together on the couch and without a second thought he grabbed Paul and roughly shoved him off the couch. Paul stumbled forward and Bobby sat down in the now vacated spot. Almost immediately Jack came up from behind and flipped himself over the back of the couch, nearly knocking over a lamp in the process, and sat on the opposite side of me.

"Honestly? You guys are such jerks!" I voiced my disbelief.

Jerry squished himself onto the couch with Jack, Bobby and me while Angel lounged on the love seat. Paul was left with the reclining chair which, in most cases, Bobby claimed as his own.

"So, Angel, you're a marine right?" Paul asked awkwardly.

"Yeah." Angel replied without even looking up.

"That's really cool! I've always wanted to be a marine but I don't think I'm exactly marine material, you know? Do you like it?" Paul asked.

"It's alright." Angel answered.

My anger flared. Angel loved his job! Most of the time we couldn't get him to shut up about it! Why did he have to be such a jerk?

Paul swallowed nervously, "Do you play any sports?" He tried a new approach.

Angel ignored the question; instead he reached for the remote and turned on the TV.

Paul looked at me awkwardly, and I just shrugged, giving up, knowing that the conversation with Angel wasn't going to get anywhere.

_Why did I decide to do this again?_ I whined inwardly.

"Do you have a criminal record?" Jerry asked suddenly.

"Uh…" Paul started.

"No Mercer has the right to judge anyone by that!" I disputed.

"So, yes than?" Jerry urged.

"JERRY!" I shouted.

"Do you do drugs?" Bobby demanded.

"No." Paul said.

"Alcohol?" Bobby stared at him.

"Uh… Well, I've had a few drinks before but nothing major. I certainly don't drink regularly." Paul began to look nervous.

"Ever slept with a girl?" Bobby asked.

"BOBBY!" I screamed.

"Ever slept with a guy?" Bobby asked.

"BOBBY!" I couldn't believe him.

"Ever slept with my sister?" Bobby asked suddenly sounding angry as though that thought had just occurred to him.

"BOBBY!" I hollered again.

"Well?" He asked, staring at Paul for an answer, his fists clenched threateningly.

I noticed Jack, Jerry and Angel were all looking at Paul in a similar manor. Paul looked around, looking terribly nervous.

"BOBBY, I'M A VIRGIN!" I exclaimed.

Bobby didn't stop staring at Paul.

"I've never slept with Alex. I swear." He answered finally, "We're friends and that's all."

I was glad Paul was smart enough to answer the question that way. We had never 'slept together' nor would we ever that I could imagine, but we had, on more than one occasion slept 'beside each other' or in the same bed. To me, this was no different than sleeping beside one of my female friends; it just wasn't something we ever really thought about. We were nothing more than friends and both Paul and I knew and respected that.

Bobby still looked frustrated, as though he didn't quite believe Paul.

"So, you two aren't dating?" Jerry clarified.

"NO!" Paul and I said in unison, though he probably said it more calmly than I did.

"You aren't dating than?" Jack asked with a smirk on his face.

In response, I elbowed him hard in the ribs; he was only asking to frustrate me.

Paul glanced at the clock, "I told my mom that I'd be home by eight thirty so I should really get going." He said to me.

We both stood up and I walked him to the door.

I couldn't help but wonder if he was telling the truth or if he was just looking for an excuse to get away from my brothers. Personally, I wouldn't blame him either way.

"Thanks for coming." I said as he put his shoes back on and grabbed his bag.

"Thanks for inviting me." He smirked.

I opened the door to let him out.

"See you tomorrow?" He asked nervously.

"Yeah… I don't think that will be possible." I said.

"Oh?" He looked at me.

"Jack and Alex managed to get themselves suspended." Jerry said with distaste as he suddenly appeared behind me.

"Of course you did!" He rolled his eyes, "What did you do exactly?"

"Well… I didn't punch the principal that's for sure…" I said unconvincingly.

Paul started laughing, "Way to be! Where did that genius decision come from?" He teased.

"I hate that man." I complained.

"You'll have to tell me all about it when you aren't grounded." Paul smirked.

I laughed slightly.

"Are you leaving?" Ma asked, walking into the room.

"Yeah, sorry." He said, "I'm supposed to babysit my little sister at 8:30. Thank you so much for having me!"

"Oh, it was my pleasure!" Ma said kindly.

_Goodness! This would have been quite a nice visit, if of course I didn't have brothers._ I thought stubbornly.

"It was really nice to meet you all! Talk to you soon, Alex?" He asked casually, as though my brothers hadn't just acted like complete imbeciles.

"Yeah, of course…" I answered sheepishly.

I felt bad that I hadn't told him how much this meeting was riding on. I hadn't told him that if my family didn't like him I wouldn't be allowed to hang out with him anymore. I hadn't told him that after today, we may never be able to talk to each other again.

He smiled and waved as he walked down the front steps and headed towards the sidewalk. I took a deep breath and shut the door before turning around to face the verdict that could potentially change mine and Paul's lives forever.

**I hope you liked it! Don't forget to review! **

**-Ducttapeandladybugsandboredo m**


	13. Deep Breaths

**Huge thanks to ILoveAnime89, Mantha921, RaidenTakashixx, the everchanging, RebornRose1992 and sundance1989 for the reviews! You guys give me a reason to keep writing! Anyways, enjoy!**

All eyes were on me as I turned to look at my family. They all held a solid poker face.

"Well?" I asked nervously, the false smile that I had tried to hold for the duration of the visit completely disappeared from my face.

I turned to Ma; I only really cared about what she thought anyway.

"I think we should discuss this as a family." Ma decided, "I'll just go wash my hands and we will meet in the living room, okay?"

I nodded and she rushed off.

I wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans; it had been a long time since I was this nervous.

I attempted to recall the things that Paul may have said that would be a deal breaker but I didn't have the slightest clue what was rolling through my brothers' minds.

"Family discussion, this should be good." I mumbled under my breath sarcastically.

"Yeah, a family discussion, so don't you have some homework to do or something, Alex?" The ice in Angel's voice shocked me.

Apparently, I had been louder than I had intended.

I turned to look at him, ready to fire a snappy come-back in his direction but the look in his eyes told me not to argue. He had managed to hold his anger the entire time that Paul had been here but now that he was gone, all of Angel's rage surfaced.

"…Yeah…r-right…of course." I said absently, deciding that he had the right to be mad at me.

I turned and headed up the stairs. There wasn't much I could say and I was too exhausted to argue. It was an out of character reaction but I had to co-operate, making my brothers more mad right now was not an option.

I entered my room but didn't shut the door all the way. I still wanted to be able to hear what they said about Paul. If they told me they didn't want me around him anymore I wanted to know why and I wasn't going to take this sitting down.

"That was harsh, dude!" I heard Bobby say accusingly, presumably to Angel.

I sat down on my bed and put my back against the wall. There was no way I was going to do homework, besides, I didn't have school for three weeks, I'd have plenty of time.

"Six years is a long time." Was all Angel responded.

I rolled my eyes, but I couldn't say that I disagreed. I was willing to admit that I had screwed up big time. I had kept this secret for too long, but there wasn't much more that I could do to fix it.

When Ma entered the living room I heard her ask where I was but my brothers' reply was muffled by someone opening a bag of chips.

Whatever they said, it must have been pretty convincing because Ma seemed to accept it without a word.

I was upset by what Angel had said but I felt as though all I had done for the last few days was cry. I didn't want to cry anymore. Crying was exhausting and I was already worn out.

"He seemed nice don't you think?" Ma finally asked the jury that was my older brothers.

I smiled. Ma, bless her heart, could always smother my fears. I felt sick for lying to her for so long; it must have hurt her so much once she found out.

_Next time you lie, make sure no one finds out!_ I said to myself.

Lying was something I learned growing up and as much as I wanted to, I couldn't tell Ma everything. Well, that wasn't true. I could tell Ma anything and everything, it was just that I didn't want to. Sometimes, the truth hurt more.

"He was fake." Angel argued. "Every good thing about him was all an act."

"Even the clothes he was were nothing like when I first met him." Jack reported.

"Alex's face when he showed up even confirmed that she was surprised too." Jerry pitched in.

Of course, I should have known Jerry would notice that. Jerry was always the odd one out. If all of my brothers were looking at Paul, Jerry would without a doubt be looking at me.

I cursed myself. I should have known that Paul would try to look presentable. I should have had more faith in him. I could have ruined everything!

"In his defense, I'm sure he was terribly nervous." Ma reasoned.

_Thank you!_ I thought, relieved.

Ma hadn't stopped complimenting Paul… yet… That was without a doubt a good sign. Actually, it was a very good sign! No matter what my brothers said, when it came down to it, Ma was the deciding vote. As long as she was sure that she was alright with Paul and me hanging out, she would sway the boys' opinions.

"Ma, did you know they've been friends for six f…" Bobby began in disbelief.

"Bobby Mercer! How many times do I have to tell you to stop using that kind of language?" Ma cut him off.

"Sorry Ma, but you have to understand why I'm mad! I mean, six years?" His voice was loud.

I heard Ma sigh, "Yes, I understand." She sounded exasperated.

My hopes shattered in an instant. That was typical Bobby. He was always looking on the dark side of things. Couldn't they just overlook the fact that I had kept the secret for so long? Of course they couldn't. Honestly, even I wouldn't have overlooked it if I was in their position.

"It would serve her right if she wasn't allowed to see him anymore! Maybe she'd smarten up!" Angel spat.

"Angel, that's quite enough." Ma said calmly.

I could almost picture the look on Angel's face. I had hurt him, that was clear and not knowing how to fix it troubled me. How could I fix a mistake that I had made six years ago?

Maybe the first step was admitting that I had made a mistake. I knew that I had screwed up, but I still didn't believe that what I had done was a complete mistake. I mean, they were furious now, but they would have been furious back then too.

"No, it's not!" I heard something slid across the floor and I assumed that Angel had stood up and pushed his chair backwards. "She lied to everyone about her 'best friend' for six years! Don't you understand that? Who knows what else she is lying about! Is her whole life just a bunch of lies?" Angel continued.

"Son, please calm down." Ma's voice was steady and calm, as always.

"Don't tell me to calm down!" Angel roared.

I heard heavy stomps on the stairs and I fell still, unsure of what was going on. I heard Angel's bedroom door slam and for a moment everything was silent.

"Angel! You have no right to talk to Ma that way!" Bobby yelled, getting defensive.

"Bobby calm down. Your brother is upset; we will just have to continue this conversation without him for the time being." Ma acknowledged.

Loud music began to blast from Angel's room. The music was so loud I didn't even recognize the song. Angel had decent taste in music, but whatever he was playing at that moment could only be classified as noise.

I'm not really sure why I did it but I went and stood at the doorway to my bedroom. I leaned cautiously against the wall and stared at Angel's door. It occurred to me that I was frustrated with him. Paul had tried to be nice to Angel, Paul had tried to talk to him, have a conversation with him, but Angel had had none of it! Mixed with the anger I felt a sharp pain in my chest. Guilt. I knew I was the reason Angel was acting like this and I knew he must be in a lot of pain, even if his ego wouldn't let him admit it.

Despite all odds, my guilt managed to push my anger back into the cores of my body until it felt almost non-existent.

"I was going to go talk to him, but if you'd like to do it instead, go for it." The voice startled me out of my thoughts.

I turned to see Jerry standing near the stairs. I must not have heard him because of the deafening 'music'.

Jerry was staring at me, as though he was trying to read my soul. He had a sympathetic look in his eyes; maybe he understood how I was feeling.

"Yeah, alright." I agreed, nodding my head absentmindedly. It was the guilt speaking.

I walked slowly over to Angel's door and took a deep breath before knocking loudly.

"He'll never hear you, just walk in." Jerry insisted.

I shook my head roughly, "No way! I learned that lesson the hard way! Never again will I walk into Angel's room without knocking!" I shivered.

Jerry looked into my eyes, trying to read between the lines. He shivered, "Gross! I don't want to know!" He started down the stairs.

I shivered at the memory and nodded in agreement.

Jerry had only descended a few steps before he turned around. "Alex,"

I looked at him.

"Good luck!" He smiled reassuringly at me before continuing down the stairs to return to judging my best friend with the rest of the family.

I smiled back gratefully. He too must have thought that the 'family discussion' comment Angel had given me was too harsh.

I knocked again, louder this time until I was sure Angel must be able to hear me. And again. And again. And again. And again. Still, there was no answer.

I thought momentarily that Angel might have snuck out, gone to his 'girlfriend' Sofi's house or something. I concluded that that was unlikely, had he wanted to leave that badly, he could have just walked out the front door instead of going through all the effort of storming up to his room and then quietly climbing out the window.

I knocked again. When, once again, no one answered I took a deep breath and turned the doorknob. Angel was lying on his bed, face buried deep in the pillow. Cautiously, I sat down at the foot of the bed and reached over to turn the music down. It was still loud, but at least now I could hear myself think.

"Get out of my room!" Angel threatened through gritted teeth.

I took a deep breath, "Angel?" I asked gently.

His body went rigid at the sound of my voice. Apparently, he hadn't been expecting me.

"What?" His voiced cracked. He coughed. "WHAT?" He corrected, but it was too late. I had already heard his voice break.

"Can we talk?" I suggested calmly.

"I'm really not in the mood." This time he succeeded at hiding his pain. Not that it mattered; after all, I already knew it was there.

I waited, assuming that he would change his mind after a while.

When he didn't, I sighed, "Angel, please just talk to me for a minute."

"I have nothing to say to you, Alex. Leave me alone." He snapped.

I stood up. I'm sure he figured that I would get up and leave, that I would get tired of getting the cold shoulder and just give up. He was wrong. I was Mercer, and Mercer's didn't give up. Besides, I still had one more trick up my sleeve.

I walked toward the head of the bed and sat back down. I leaned over, wrapping my arms around his back, I hugged him. I felt his muscles relax in shock and I become conscious of the fact that he was shaking.

"… Angel… I'm sorry…" I pleaded.

He didn't react. I felt like I had been hugging for too long, but I refused to pull away. My heart filled with pain as the brother I had once been closest with refused to acknowledge me. After what he had said to me when he found out about Paul, after he had pretty much told me he hated me, told me that they all hated me, I didn't just want him to hug me back; I needed him to.

Stubbornly, I kept my arms wrapped around his muscular body. I laid my head on his back; I could hear his heartbeat and feel the rise and fall of his body each time he took a breath.

"Angel…" I begged.

Slowly my grip on his torso lessened and I began to pull away. He had won. The boys could deal with him if they wanted to. Pain spread through my chest as I realized that I had broken a bond that had once been so strong.

I stared at him, wishing that I could just go back in time. Once again I got no reaction, so I started to stand up. I couldn't sit there forever. I wasn't that strong.

I gave him a fleeting glance as I attempted to walk through my brother's messy room and toward the door.

"Damn it, Alex!" He cursed loudly as he sat up.

He grabbed my arm and pulled me towards him. He wrapped me in a hug so tight I was worried I might suffocate, but I hugged back.

Gently I pulled away and looked up into his eyes. For the first time in my entire life, I saw tears streaming down Angel's face. He wiped them away angrily and I laughed. At the sight of my tough older brother crying, I began to choke up.

"Six years, Alex! Six damn years!" He made no effort and hiding his pain this time.

I put my head on his chest, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." I said, and I meant it.

We sat there, together, for quite a while. I felt safe in his arms.

"I should apologize to Ma." Angel admitted, his voice sounded distant.

"Yeah, you should." I agreed.

Again no one spoke. The music was still far too loud but somehow I had managed to block it out.

"You can't see him again." He blurted out suddenly.

I could hear the familiar anger begin to creep back into his voice and I pulled away from him.

He couldn't be serious could he? It wasn't up to him anyway!

"Angel," I objected, "he tried. He really tried to get along with you. He tried to have a conversation with you! You completely blew him off!"

Angel scoffed.

"You could have at least tried! For me! I know you're mad at me, I get that. Maybe you should be, but honestly, I thought I could count on you to be there for me. Instead you told me that my whole family hates me and that you wish I wasn't even adopted, you told me that I didn't have the right to be in the room for a family discussion! Does that mean you don't want me as part of your family? That's how I took it! Now you are doing everything in your power to make sure that I never get to see my best friend again? I know I should have told you Angel, I know, but you aren't giving me any reason to be sorry that I didn't. If you are trying to hurt me Angel, you're doing a fantastic job!" I exploded more out of pain than out of anger.

I couldn't stop the tears running down my cheeks as I stood up and walked out of my brother's room. I flopped on my own bed and shut my eyes. The music that was still blasting from Angel's speakers was preventing me from hearing whatever was going on downstairs.

I waited until I had stopped crying before I sat up and grabbed my backpack. I went and sat at my desk in the corner of my room and started to work on my own math homework. Anything to keep my mind busy until Ma and the other guys came upstairs and gave me the verdict.

I'm not sure how long it was before I heard footsteps on the stairs. I peered out of my room and saw Angels figure descending the staircase.

I had just finished my math when I heard a knock at my door. I took a deep breath, knowing this was the moment.

"Yeah?" I asked.

The ear-splitting music stopped and the house felt empty.

Another knock.

"Yeah?" I asked again, turning around to look at the door.

Ma entered the room, followed closely by Bobby, Jack and Jeremiah. I looked at them, hoping it wasn't too obvious that I had been crying.

_Whatever happens, I'll get through it_. I tried to convince myself silently.

"So, how are you?" Bobby snickered slightly, clearly enjoying my discomfort.

"I don't know yet." I answered through gritted teeth.

Angel entered my room at that moment and I had to fight the erg to turn away. I watched through the corner of my eyes as he leaned awkwardly against my doorframe, staying a ways away from everyone else.

"What have you been up to lately?" Jerry joined in Bobby's game.

I rolled my eyes "You're all jerks, would you just tell me already?" I complained.

Every one chuckled, everyone except Angel, who still looked out of place.

"Well," Ma began, taking her time.

"Well?" I insisted.

"We've decided to give him a second chance." Ma smiled at me.

"Third chance." Bobby coughed in correction.

A huge smile appeared on my face. I rushed over and gave Ma a huge hug. I felt as though a thousand pounds had just been lifted off my shoulders. Ma hugged back without hesitation. She laughed at my enthusiasm, knowing that I was relieved.

"Thank you!" I added sheepishly.

"Don't screw it up." Jerry ordered.

I shot him a look but I couldn't keep from smiling.

I was still hugging Ma when the phone rang. I released her.

"I should get that, it's probably my work." She apologized before kissing me on the head and adding "I love you!"

"I love you!" I replied, flopping on my bed.

Ma left the room; she patted Angel on the shoulder compassionately as she passed.

I smiled as I lay on my bed, I was thrilled. My family had been willing to give Paul and me a second chance, or, a third chance, as Bobby had put it.

"I agreed, on one condition." Jack spoke up.

I turned my head to the right so that I could see them. "I won't sleep with Paul." I promised.

"No, that's just a no-brainer unless you want to sign his death certificate." Jack reminded me.

I sat up and leaned lazily against the wall. "What's your condition Jack?" I was mildly amused.

"Who were you in a fight with that day that you and Paul met?" Jack demanded.

I fought to keep from showing my shock. Why did he keep asking that? Did he know? He couldn't know!

_Jack! Drop it!_ I thought in frustration.

"I don't remember anymore." I shrugged, "Besides, what difference does it make?"

My heart was pounding. I didn't need this right now. Was it possible that Jack was smart enough to figure it out? If he could figure that out, why wasn't he passing a single one of his classes?

"Think about it guys, four of them, if Alex was nine and the youngest was twelve that would be my age at the time too. They were four brothers. Think it through." Jack hinted.

No! He couldn't know! Since when did Jack care this much anyway?

"What are you getting at?" Bobby asked, he sounded completely confused.

I looked over at Angel who seemed intrigued but didn't seem to know what Jack was talking about either.

"It was a long time ago Jack. Let it go. It doesn't matter now. I don't remember who they were anyway. A lot of people have tried to kill me since then; there was nothing special about these guys, nothing worth remembering I guess." I insisted.

He knew. It was clear he knew. The question was, how did he know? And how could I get him to forget about it before he started World War 3?

"If I guessed would I get it right?" Jack challenged.

"Jack. Drop it." I shrugged as though it was no big deal.

Everyone was staring at Jack and me. No one seemed to know what was going on, but they could tell that Jack knew something that I obviously didn't want him to know.

"Mind if I guess?" Jack dared.

I looked at him, not knowing what to do. The excitement I had felt when Ma had told me that Paul got another chance had completely disappeared. Tension grew. I didn't need this war to start.

"It's no big deal, Jack. Just drop it." I repeated, shrugging again.

I felt my blood go cold as Jack spoke the next sentence, "What would you say if I told you that I was going to invite Sam Killroy and his older brothers over?"

**Not sure if I had enough description in this chapter, might be too much dialogue. I hope you liked it anyway! Let me know what you thought, good or bad. Feel free to give me suggestions or just let me know what you thought by reviewing or sending me a PM! Can't wait to find out if you liked it! Thanks for reading! **

**-Ducttapeandladybugsandboredo m**


	14. One Condition

**Hey guys! Big thanks to ILoveAnime89, ks90, ComicGeek, sundance1989, RebornRose1992, CindyBaby and Mantha921 for the reviews, they really keep my going! Here's chapter 14, hope you like it!**

_"What would you say if I told you I was going to invite Sam Killroy and his older brothers over?"_ Jack's voice echoed in my head.

My blood ran cold and I struggled to catch my breath. Time seemed to slow down. No. No. No! How could he know? He couldn't know. It wasn't possible. I was just imagining it.

Realization was appearing on the faces of my three oldest brothers. I was taking too long to answer. I would only get a few more seconds before, no matter what I said, my brothers would know the truth. I couldn't let that happen. I wouldn't let that happen.

Could I stop this war before it had even started? No, I realized, the Killroys had started this war when they tried to kill me all those years ago. My brother's would find out eventually. If Jack really did invite them over and I went out or stayed in my room like I usually did, the boys would catch on. But could I stand being in the same room and pretend to be friends with the four guys who had made it perfectly clear that they saw no reason to spare me my life? I'd die first. It was obvious that, eventually, my brother's would find out what happened that day six years ago. All I could do was post-pone the inevitable.

_On my death bed I will tell them!_ I thought in a panic.

They couldn't find out now. They couldn't.

I fought to maintain a calm demeanor. "I'd say go ahead." The questioning tone in my voice implied that I didn't understand what Jack was getting at.

Jack was wearing a cocky smile, completely aware of how much I was struggling to deny everything he was saying. He was winning and he knew it.

The Killroys were my brother's best friends. They grew up together. The friendship started when, shortly after he was adopted at the age of ten, Bobby met a boy his age named Patrick, the oldest of the four Killroy boys. When Angel was adopted almost three years later, Bobby introduced him to the second youngest Killroy boy, Andre, who happened to be the same age. Bobby once told me that, at first, Angel didn't get along with Andre. Angel was jealous that Andre had three biological brothers and they all lived with their biological parents. Andre had a "real family", as Angel had called it at the time. Since then, Angel has learned what family really means and, as he developed a connection with Bobby, he slowly developed a lasting friendship with Andre as well. When Jerry was adopted, at age twelve, him and the second Killroy boy, Dennis, immediately hit it off. Their personalities were mirrors of each other, both boys being incredibly bossy, not to mention boring. Jerry had always been a bit of an outcast in the Mercer home, always being the odd-one-out, and Dennis was the same way in the Killroy home, not that this bothered either of them. By the time Jack was adopted the next year, the Killroys and the three eldest Mercer boys were always together. Samuel loved Jack's company from the start. Jack, like Angel, took a while to get used to the Killroys, but by the time I came to live with the Mercers, the two families were inseparable. I grew up with the Killroys. I cared about them. I trusted them. It came as quite a surprise to find out they hated me.

Throughout the years, Ma had fostered many children of various ages and each one made an imprint on us as a family. I have met quite a few of the children Ma fostered before I came, each one grateful for Ma's never-ending love. Ma continued to foster children after I was adopted but since she no longer had an extra bedroom, it became much rarer.

The foster kids would tag along with the boys and it never seemed to be a problem with the Killroys. With me, it was different.

Maybe it was my everlasting presence. The fact that I had been adopted meant that the connection that I developed with my brothers would never waver. I would always be there.

Maybe it was that there wasn't a Killroy my age for me to spend time with so, when the Killroys were around, my brothers still seemed to feel the need to look out for me.

At first, I spent a lot of time fretting about the fact that they hated me. I didn't know what I had done. The Killroys had never let on that they even had a slight dislike for me; at least, they never did in front of my brothers. In the end, it wasn't important why they hated me; it just mattered that they did.

Patrick and Dennis never had much of a problem with me. Bobby and Jerry were so much older that I didn't spend much time with them. In fact, I hardly spent any time with Bobby at all. Andre and Sam on the other hand, had taken personal offense to the strong connection I had with Angel and Jack.

It didn't matter which ones hated me and which ones didn't, when they cornered me six years ago, they were all there. Patrick and Dennis were more than willing to help out their younger brothers on their homicidal quest which was supposed to end my life and, coincidentally, Paul's.

I never asked Paul why the older boys didn't like him. I was too afraid that he might ask me the same question and I was more than willing to forget about the whole incident. I trusted the Killroys and I hated myself for it. If it hadn't been for Paul, I'd be dead.

"Come on, Jackie! The Killroys are practically family!" Jerry commented, shaking his head.

Jack turned his gaze away from me, the Killroys were like family, and it might be harder than he thought to convince the guys otherwise.

"When was the last time that Alex hung out with us when the Killroys were around?" Jack demanded, trying to make his point.

The room was silent for a minute and I began to panic. It had been so long since I had been in the same room as the Killroys that even I couldn't come up with an example.

"There was one time that I remember." Angel started quietly, "We were watching the Fourth of July fireworks. Alex would have been, I don't know, about eight. She and Sam were joking around the whole time. Remember?"

Angel's voice was gentle, he sounded like a little kid that wasn't sure if they were welcome to speak.

"That was seven years ago! That would have been before the day her and Paul met!" Jack snapped.

I turned to see Bobby looking at me. When I acknowledged him he looked into my eyes. He was trying to read my thoughts, trying to figure out if Jack could be right. I tried to look away casually.

"Man, Jack! Why are you turning on the Killroys all of a sudden? You and Sam get into a fight or something?" I enquired.

"There aren't four brothers in Detroit, our age, who we've never met! Tell me it's not them!" Jack spat.

"It's not them!" I shouted forcefully but my voice cracked ever so slightly.

My heart was racing. I had always been ashamed that I had let things get so far that day. I had always felt that I had screwed up, that it was my fault that the four older boys had tried to kill me. I had always felt that by telling my brothers what had happened, it would be like tearing a family apart. The Killroys weren't just like family, they were family. But it wasn't the first time that I had had my 'family' try to kill me.

**6 Years Earlier:**

"You tell the Mercers about this and you're dead!" Patrick's face was mere inches from my own and I could feel his warm breath as he threatened me.

I struggled to pull away and he lifted me off my feet by the collar of my shirt. He had me pinned against the telephone pole with one arm while Dennis was busy tying my hands behind my back.

"She'll be dead before she gets the chance." Sam's cocky tone was contrary to Jack's normally gentle demeanor.

I could see him sharpening a switchblade from the corner of my eye.

_They say opposites attract…_ I remember thinking.

"Not so tough now are we, Tehsar?" Patrick asked as soon as Dennis was finished with the knot.

I cringed at the sound of my birth last name; I didn't even know that they knew it.

"If you let me go now, I won't tell them. I promise!" I begged as I felt my fingers begin to go numb.

Dennis must have tied the rope so tight around my wrist that the blood couldn't flow to my fingers.

"And you call yourself a Mercer!" Patrick said as he spat in my face.

Tears stung my eyes and I saw Andre step towards me.

"Help! Somebody help me!" I screamed the words that had so often echoed through the streets of Detroit.

Andre hit me so hard across the face that it drew blood. "No one is going to hear you." He taunted.

I looked down the dark alleyway and struggled to see past a row of garbage bins blocking my view. It was futile; I knew there was no one there. The only life forms I could see were the four Killroys, each of which wearing a matching dangerous smile. Past the garbage bins the alley was deserted, except for, I found out later, Paul. The Killroys had tied a noose around his neck and left him to hang from a fire escape of one of the abandoned buildings. Apparently, Paul's offence hadn't been nearly as big as my own and he thus merited a less painful demise.

Andre took a small step away from me and I noticed the baseball bat swinging loosely in his right hand.

"So boys, where should we start?" He mused as he lifted the baseball bat to jab me hard in the stomach.

He hit me again and again, three, four, times with the bat.

I gasped for air.

"My brothers will kill you for this!" I shouted at them for probably the millionth time since they had cornered me.

It was nearing Jack's birthday and when the Killroys had been at my house earlier that day, Sam had asked me to come to the alley that night to help plan for Jack's surprise party. Sam had told me that we had to do the planning in the alley otherwise Jack might find us and ruin the surprise. So, that night, after I was sure Ma and all my brothers were asleep, I opened my window and climbed onto the roof. Slowly and gently I had crawled to the edge and flipped over, hanging onto the eavesdrops, I swung my legs until I could reach the decorative vine support on the side of the house. I stuck my feet into one of the squares and slowly moved my arms until I had a firm grip on the support. Then I climbed down, as though I was on a ladder. To this day, I still use that way to sneak out.

At first I was nervous. Being only nine years old, this was my first time on the dangerous Detroit streets alone, especially at night. But I trusted the Killroys. I was convinced nothing would happen to me if one of them was around to look out for me. I trusted them.

"Awe, how sweet, you still think that you are going to get the chance to tell them!" Sam's voice, once again, reminded me that I wouldn't get out of this.

"They'll know it was you and they'll kill you!" I shrieked on the verge of tears.

"Shut up!" Andre yelled and, despite his attempts to disguise it, I heard fear in his voice.

"They'll kill you!" I was looking directly at Andre now, hoping he would back down out of fear of my four older brothers.

Dennis yanked my hair so hard my head slammed into the telephone pole.

"You aren't going to win this fight so you might as well do as you're told. Maybe it will be a little less painful that way." Dennis sneered, still holding my hair in an iron grip.

_You don't deserve to be called a Mercer!_ I remember yelling at myself silently after Dennis released my hair.

I was ashamed that I had lost the fight. Mercers didn't lose fights.

Patrick stepped towards me and I yanked so hard at the ropes that were tied around my ankles and wrists that they left burn marks on my skin.

"Stop struggling!" Sam warned as he pressed his newly sharpened knife to my throat.

I pulled away. I knew from the start that this whole plan was originally Sam's idea. He and Patrick were the most violent of the four.

I felt a trickle of warm blood run down my neck as Sam put more pressure on the knife.

"Stop struggling!" He insisted.

And I did as I was told.

"Tell me the truth!" Jack voice pulled me back to reality

"Would you stop giving me the third degree for one second?" I begged, trying to regain composure after remembering the day that had so often haunted my nightmares.

"Don't lie to me again!" Jack's voice was weak.

The image of Angel crying in his room earlier that evening flashed before my eyes and I had to fight the erg to give in.

_They don't need to know! Not now!_ I reminded myself.

"I'd remember if it was them!" I insisted.

"I didn't say you didn't remember, I said you were lying!" Jack argued.

"Jack!" I tried to shout but it came out as more of a plea.

I could tell that for the second time that week, my web of lies had completely unraveled itself.

These two families going head-to-head could only end in a blood bath that would cost the lives of many casualties. I wasn't going to let that happen.

"I said one condition, Alex!" Jack reminded me.

I inhaled deeply, positive that I wasn't fooling anyone anymore but I wasn't willing to give up.

"What would they have against me anyway?" I asked, my voice growing calmer.

I was suddenly curious if Jack knew that the Killroys had hated me all along. Had Sam told him something? Had they been giving my dirty looks that Jack had caught? Was there something that Jack knew that I didn't?

"I don't know, Alex, that's what I'm asking you!" Jack made eye contact with me and I had to prevent myself from looking away.

"I don't know why you think that's what happened." I said, my brow furrowed in fake confusion.

"Alex, you know you can tell us anything." Jack tried a new tactic.

I sighed, obviously exasperated, "There's nothing to tell."

"Alex." Jack's voice suddenly grew stern.

I opened my mouth to talk but Ma walked into the room at that very moment.

"That was Child and Family Services on the phone." Ma informed us.

"What did they want?" Bobby grumbled.

Bobby's dislike for the company mirrored my own and that of my other three brothers. None of us would have been put into so many abusive homes if it had not been for CFS.

"Mr. Adam seems very concerned that Jack and Alexa are being abused so they are just going to come and check it out, make sure everything is in order." Ma explained calmly, referring to the principal at the high school that Jack and I both attended.

The air in the room felt heavy. I put my hand on the back of my neck, letting my fingers trace the scar where Sam Killroy's knife had penetrated deep into my skin.

"They have little kids all over the place that are being raped every day by their foster parents or biological parents or older siblings or complete strangers for crying out loud! The list goes on, but they are coming here?" Bobby asked in disbelief.

"I just ask that you all try to be on your best behavior! I couldn't stand losing any of you!" Ma smiled lovingly.

"We'll do our best, Ma." Jerry assured her.

"I knew I could count on my five amazing children!" She beamed at us before leaving the room.

The room was silent for a moment. I felt guilty about CFS coming and I knew Jack felt the same way. Everyone was thinking of what life would be like without Ma and each other. Technically, Ma could only lose custody of Jack and me, but, that didn't mean that the older three couldn't still be separated from her and each other.

Bobby finally broke the silence by speaking to me for the first time since Jack and I had started to argue. "Why didn't you tell us?" His voice was hoarse.

"That CFS was coming?" I asked calmly, as if I truly thought that's what he was talking about.

"Alex," The voice was so quiet that I couldn't distinguish who it had come from.

I looked around the room and could see all four of my older brothers staring at me in shocked silence. Four sets of eyes were trying to bore into my soul. Four sets of eyes were begging me to tell them the truth. Four sets of eyes were asking me to finally say what had happened that night. Four sets of eyes were pleading with me to trust them, to really trust them. Four sets of eyes were daring me to have faith in them.

I broke down as tears threatened to spill down my face. "I trusted them…" I finally sobbed.

**Hope you liked it! Don't forget to review and let me know what you thought! Thanks for reading!**

**-Ducttapeandladybugsandboredo m**


	15. Buy Some Time

**So sorry that I took so long to update! The last few months have been pretty busy and I apologize but don't worry, I didn't forget about it! Huge thanks to ks90, RebornRose1992, sundance1989, ThunderBuddy, CoureyCollins-Glass, and HoneyGee08 for the reviews! Anyway, here's the next chapter!**

I struggled to catch my breath; my tears were flowing freely as I pulled my knees close to my chest. I covered my face with my knees and wished I could disappear. I tried to settle my nerves but my efforts did nothing to stop my entire body from shaking. I took staggered breaths, trying to regain composure.

The room was dead silent aside from my echoing sobs and none of my brothers made any effort to speak but when I looked up, they were all staring at me.

I took a deep breath, trying to muster up enough energy to speak.

"P-Please…" I swallowed, feeling defeated, I prepared myself for my second attempt at forming words. "…Please don't ask…" I pleaded, sighing.

I shut my eyes tight, hiding my face in my knees again but the action didn't shield me from the memories raging behind my eyelids.

"Alex," Jerry's voice was gentle, but I winced anyway.

I shook my head, they couldn't make me speak. This memory had been buried so deep, for so long, I was surprised at how vividly I remembered each and every detail.

"_And you call yourself a Mercer!" _My body filled with anger as a recalled Patrick's voice.

I focused on steadying my breathing enough to stop sobbing. I took slow, shallow breaths, relaxing my entire body. At last I lifted my head, looking into my older brothers' expectant eyes.

Jack, no longer sporting a cocky smile, now looked concerned as he stared at me. I looked into his eyes, as the tears flowed gently down my cheeks. He lowered his gaze, unsure if his victory was worth the pain it seemed to be causing me.

From the corner of my eye I could see Angel leaning against my doorframe, still looking as uncomfortable as before. He was separated from the other boys and kept looking away from me, I felt bad for Angel but I didn't have the strength to bring myself to look him in the eye. Despite everything, my heart was still aching from the whole Paul fiasco.

I turned to Bobby, noting his abnormal silence. He too looked concerned, but it didn't take long before a burning anger appeared in his eyes. The look worried me, even though I knew that not even an ounce of it was directed at me.

"You can't do anything!" I insisted suddenly, remembering the potential consequences of this war.

My tears stopped instantly as I stared at Bobby, trying to calm the intense fire that I knew was burning inside him. This war couldn't happen! The Mercers and the Killroys could not fight! I had to find a way to stop it, I had to!

"Why didn't you tell us?" Bobby asked sternly, completely disregarding my statement.

I bit my lip, struggling to find the right words. All I wanted to do, despite my better judgment, was pick up my phone and call Paul, tell him the good news, tell him I needed help.

I sighed, helplessly, "What was the point? They're your best friends!"

A shocked look appeared on Bobby's face and he scoffed loudly. "And what, you thought we'd choose them over you?" He yelled in disbelief.

I blinked, trying to process what he was saying. My head was pounding and nothing was making sense. I inhaled sharply as the wheels started turning in my head.

_Good word choice Alex, good luck digging yourself out of this hole! _I thought to myself as I realized my mistake.

"No, no, no!" I shook my head, trying to explain, "They were your best friends, I just didn't want to ruin that. I didn't want to be the one who tore that all apart!"

Tears were streaming down my face again, "I just wanted to forget it happened!"

The room fell silent again; Bobby didn't seem to know what to reply. I hugged my knees nervously, taking the chance to try and formulate a plan. I felt stressed, and anxious, it was as though the walls were closing in on me, I needed to get out of this room, I needed fresh air. I just needed them to forget about the whole thing.

"You can't honestly be stupid enough to think we're just going to let this go." Bobby said finally, as though he had read my mind.

I opened my mouth, trying to speak but the words just wouldn't come.

"Tell us what the heck happened that night!" Jack demanded suddenly.

I grabbed my head, feeling as though I was about to be sick. I couldn't stop this. There was nothing I could do to fix this. The war was going to happen, I had to accept it.

I gasped as a sudden realization hit me.

"…C….CFS…" I spat out. "You can't do that to Ma! You have to let it go."

Jerry looked at me for a moment before turning to Bobby. "We really shouldn't be doing anything stupid with CFS coming in a few days." Jerry admitted.

Bobby's face turned red with anger, "Shut up, Jer! It wouldn't be stupid, it would be called for!"

Bobby was mad because he knew we were right. He knew that whatever he did for the next few days would reflect badly on Ma's parenting skills. He wouldn't risk letting Jack and I get taken away.

"Bobby, just wait, ok? Just wait until CFS has been here. Wait for this to all be sorted out and this whole thing with Mr. Adam to be over, ok? Then I'll tell. I'll tell you what happened, I'll tell you everything, and you can… you can do whatever… whatever you want. Ok? I promise." I was staring him in the eye as I spoke.

He looked at me, not agreeing, but not denying it either.

If I could just buy myself a little time, maybe I could come up with another way to stop this all from happening. Maybe, just maybe.

"We can't do this to Ma right now." I reminded him cautiously.

Everyone was silent again, weighing out the pros and cons. I did the math in my head, I was offering them a good deal, it was just a matter of how much they were willing to trust me and how well they could hold their anger.

"Ok?" I asked, not being able to wait any longer for them to agree.

I was staring at Bobby who was looking at the floor and slowly he lifted his head to hold my gaze.

Gently he started to nod, "Ok." He said, hardly louder than a whisper.

I turned to look Jerry in the eye and immediately he started to nod as well. "Ok." He said loudly with a goofy smile plastered on his face.

I smiled and turned to Jack who was already nodding. I stared at him longer than necessary, trying to pull together the strength to look Angel in the eye, but when I finally got the courage to look up, Angel had already left the room…

**Sorry it was short, I'll try to have another one up soon! Anyway, review please to let me know what you think! Hope you enjoyed it!**

**-Ducttapeandladybugsandboredo m**


	16. Iron Grip

**I am so sorry that I haven't been updating, but look, I finally have free time! I should be back to updating more regularly now! Thank you so much for all the support during the past few months and for all your reviews, they really are incredibly appreciated! **

**Disclaimer: I cannot take credit for the masterpiece that is Four Brothers; however I do own Alex Mercer! **

**Enjoy!**

It was late that night by the time Bobby and Jerry found Angel and dragged his sorry-butt back into the house. I had already been in bed for several hours but hadn't been able to fall asleep. I knew my brother too well to believe that he had stayed out of trouble the entire evening. Despite their loud entry, the fact that they were now all safe at home was calming.

I couldn't help but wonder if Angel had successfully made it to the Killroy's. Was Bobby even capable of driving past their house without starting a fight? My only comfort came from knowing that trusty Jeremiah would do his best to keep both boys out of trouble, at least until after the visit from CFS.

I was almost asleep when I heard my bedroom door open.

_Knock much? _I thought bitterly, but stayed silent. I was sure if I pretended to be asleep they would go away eventually, whoever it was.

I slowed my breathing and closed my eyes, wishing to be left alone. But eventually, I gave in and turned around.

I drew in a sharp breath when I saw Angel once again leaning against my doorway; he was the last person I had expected to see there. I saw my brother's silhouette reach up and brush a hand across his face. For the second time that day, my big, tough, rowdy older brother was crying.

"Hey… Mind if I..?" He stopped talking and pointed toward the bed.

I scanned my brain for any possible excuse to tell him to leave, but in my exhaustion it was no use. I shrugged, feeling defeated.

He stepped slowly into my room, leaving the door open behind him and sat down gently at the foot of my bed.

He sat there a few minutes, waiting for me to react. When I didn't, he moved towards me until he could look me in the eye.

"You should have told me." His voice was blunt but accusing.

I wasn't sure anymore whether he was talking about Paul or the Killroy's, but either way, I wasn't in the mood to discuss it.

Silence filled the room and I could tell he was still crying.

"I was talking to Jack…" He paused.

"I never…" He paused again and took a deep breath, his voice shaky.

"I never wanted you to feel like I didn't care about you, or didn't want you to be part of my family. I just… I don't know, Alex." Tears were visibly streaming down his face now.

_You think having you as a sister is such a picnic? _Angel's words echoed in my head and I cringed in spite of myself.

"Alex, I wouldn't blame you if you hate me for the things I said. I wouldn't. You mean everything to me. I guess I just got scared, thinking I wasn't protecting my baby sister… and now… and now I know I wasn't. Alex, I'm so sorry…" His voice was weak, he was pleading with me desperately.

I couldn't even make eye-contact with him. In fact, it took all my strength not to turn away from him. I had been to twelve foster homes, most of which were abusive; I knew what it meant to be let down. It was nearly impossible to gain my trust. I was scared to be hurt by Angel again.

He didn't say anything for a while. He just sat there, staring down at me, but he wasn't really seeing me. He was lost, somewhere dark, deep inside his head. I could tell by the glazed look in his tear-filled eyes.

"I guess I'm just saying I'm sorry I'm a jerk." He said finally, this time turning away from me.

I smiled, "I'm sorry you're a jerk too you know."

He turned back towards me and laughed, a smile appearing on his face. He lifted me into a sitting position and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into a bear hug.

"I'm sorry I made you hate me…" I said, unable to hold-back.

I felt him flinch at my words. "Alex, I don't hate you. I'm so sorry. I never wanted you to think that. Oh Alex."

There were tears streaming down my face now as I held on to my brother's torso with all my might. It was as though I was afraid that if I were to let go things would go back to the way they had been. We'd go back to screaming at each other, and fighting, and I'd go back to crying myself to sleep. It had been less than a week since Bobby had found that beer bottle on the kitchen counter, but I felt like I had lived through the Civil War. To think that this all could have been avoided if I had remembered to throw away that stupid beer bottle!

I fell asleep laying in Angel's arms, feeling safe and loved for the first time in more than a week. I didn't know how long it'd last, how long it would be before I'd have to start explaining myself again. How long before I'd really have to tell them about what happened that night with the Killroy's. But at that very moment, none of it mattered. At that very moment, all I wanted to do was lay there and sleep for an eternity.

The next few days passed uneventfully. Ma, of course, found Jack and I volunteer work to do during our time off school. We started at six o'clock every morning and worked well until suppertime. It was long work but neither of us was in any position to complain about it.

Jack and I spent most of the time talking. It was weird. Sure, our talk was light and meaningless, but for us, this was a step in the right direction. I knew he wanted me to tell him about what had happened the night I met Paul, I knew he wanted to know everything I didn't want to say, but it also seemed like he might also be trying to start some sort of relationship with me. Something more than the bare-minimum. I wanted to be close to Jack again. Wanted to know that he cared about me not just because he had to. Maybe this was what we needed to become the brother and sister we used to be.

Angel and I too had spent a lot of time in the evenings laughing and joking. I was optimistic enough to believe that things might be going back to normal, or possibly even better than that. I mean, sure, I was still suspended for three weeks, and still grounded for a month and a half, but I think that for once, we were all tired of fighting with each other.

"ALEX! GET UP!" I heard Angel yell from his room.

It was Saturday morning and I had been looking forward to sleeping in.

_Not in this house! _I thought bitterly as I shoved my head under my pillow to block out the sun that was shining through my bedroom window.

Angel stomped into my room at that moment, dumping a bucket of water on top of me.

"You should have seen that coming!" He teased.

"What was that for?" I demanded through chattering teeth.

"I said get up!" He grabbed me and threw me awkwardly over his shoulder.

"Angel! Put me down! Knock it off!" I pounded on his bare back as I noticed disgustedly that he was wearing nothing but boxers.

He walked calmly down the stairs, laughing to himself as I screamed.

He dumped me roughly on the couch, "Told you I'd get her up."

"Angel." Jerry said tensely.

I turned around to see a nicely dressed woman standing rigidly beside Ma.

"She's from CFS, isn't she?" Angel observed nervously.

Jerry raised his eyebrows, unimpressed.

"Right, and you guys call _me _the screw-up?" I noted.

**Sorry it was so short! Again! But I wanted to let you guys know that I didn't forget! Stay tuned for the next chapter: The visit from CFS! Think the Mercer's can hold it together? I promise it won't take me months to update this time! Again, thank you so much for continuing to support me! Hope you guys liked this chapter, don't worry, I have some big twists coming up soon and you'll get to learn more about Alex's past! I hope you're as excited as I am!**

**Thanks again! Review to let me know what you thought!**

**-Ducttapeandladybugsandboredom**


	17. Mrs Hemmingsworth

**Thanks for all the support! I am sorry… Life just keeps getting in the way… **

**Anyway, enjoy!**

"ALEX! GET UP!" I heard Angel yell from his room.

It was Saturday morning and I had been looking forward to sleeping in. Jack and I had spent the rest of the week helping Ma out at various charity events. Ma was a master at finding us odd jobs to do on short notice when we got in trouble, by now she had certainly had enough practice. Either way though, I was completely exhausted, the thought of a nice boring, uneventful weekend appealed to me at that moment more than anything else in the world.

_Not in this house!_ I thought bitterly as I shoved my head under my pillow to block out the sun that was shining through my bedroom window.

Angel stomped into my room at that moment, dumping a bucket of water on top of me.

"You should have seen that coming!" He teased.

He was right, after living here for nine years I probably should've seen it coming.

"What was that for?" I demanded through chattering teeth.

"I said get up!" He grabbed me and threw me awkwardly over his shoulder.

"Angel! Put me down! Knock it off! Angel!" I pounded as hard as I could on his bare back as I noticed disgustedly that he was wearing nothing but an old, tattered pair of boxers.

He walked calmly down the stairs, laughing to himself as I screamed and kicked. It wasn't fair that he was so much stronger than me. I was putting all my energy into trying to escape but my older brother remained completely unfazed.

He dumped me roughly on the couch, "Told you I'd get her up."

"Angel." Jerry said tensely.

I turned around to see a nicely dressed woman standing rigidly beside Ma.

"She's from Child and Parent Services, isn't she?" Angel observed nervously.

Jerry raised his eyebrows, unimpressed.

"Right, and you guys call _me_ the screw-up?" I noted.

To that Jack smirked, "Oh give it time, I'm sure you will have proved it at least once by the end of the day!"

Out of habit I grabbed a pillow off of the couch and threw it, rather violently in his direction.

He was about to throw it back when Ma cleared her throat. "That's enough." She frowned and gave us each a stern look.

"Sorry, Ma." Jack, Angel and I mumbled in unison.

Angel reached over to help me up; I was soaked from head to toe thanks to his clever stunt and dressed in one of Bobby's ripped hand-me-down shirts and a loose pair of short-shorts, standing next to Angel in his underwear. I can't even begin to imagine how the scene must have looked from an outsider's point of view.

My other three brothers were dressed to the nines, at least in comparison to their habitual attire. Bobby wore a pair of black dress pants with a light blue dress shirt and a dark blue tie, his hair was gelled back and he was standing up straight. I almost couldn't recognize my goofy brother behind the costume.

Jerry was obviously dressed to impress in a black suit with a shiny red tie, he was even cleanly shaven. Jerry's getup didn't come as much as a surprise to me; it was his habit to 'dress for success' as he put it.

Jack was much less impressive, wearing a faded pair of blue jeans with a black dress shirt, but for Jack, this was an incredible feat. Even his generally wild mane was combed back properly.

"How about you two go on and get yourselves dressed, and then come back down and join us, ok?" Ma suggested, and Angel and I most certainly didn't need to be told twice.

Upstairs, I threw on a tee-shirt and a pair of jeans and turned to leave my room, anxious to remedy the terrible first impression. I reached the stairs and looked down to see Jerry leaning against the wooden railing. He took one disapproving look at me and shook his head.

"Go change!" He mouthed, waving his hand to shoe me away and his brow furrowed in annoyance.

I ignored him and moved to continue down the steps. Jerry rolled his eyes and ran up towards me. He grabbed me roughly by the arm and turned me back towards my room.

"Are you really that helpless that you can't even get dressed on your own?" He demanded.

"It wouldn't be a problem if you weren't so high maintenance!" I argued back.

Angel poked his head out of his room at that moment, still wearing nothing but his old Simpson boxers, "Shut up, both of you! Don't you know they can hear you down stairs?" He whispered urgently before slamming the door again.

"Jerry, I don't dress up, I don't have anything to wear." I said, considerably quieter this time.

Clearly displeased, he walked toward my closet and flipped swiftly through my clothes before pulling down a sparkly red dress that I hadn't worn in at least two years.

I shook my head, "No way, that's way too small on me now!"

"Well it will have to do for today." He shrugged. "Now get dressed!" He reached for my door then paused to look back at me. "And, do something with your hair!"

I heard him knock firmly on Angel's door across the hall, "Wear something nice!" He ordered.

I rolled my eyes but quickly grabbed a brush to run through my wet and mangled hair. I heard Angel's footsteps on the stairs and sighed, turning back to the dress.

Feeling defeated, I put it on and looked myself over in the mirror. The dress, which had fit me perfectly a few years ago, was now obviously several sizes too small, and considerably too short. I moved uncomfortably as I realized its tightness and the way it clearly showed every curve in my body. I looked good, if of course I were a prostitute.

I flipped desperately through my closet again, hoping something would pop out. When nothing did, I turned, bitterly, to join my family downstairs.

They were seated on the couch, the boys all remaining completely silent while Ma held up a friendly conversation with the social worker. Despite himself, Jerry smirked when he saw me, he could tell that I found the dress incredibly disagreeable, and apparently he was enjoying my pain. My eyes shot over to Angel, who was wearing his navy blue Marine dress uniform.

"Nice get-up!" I teased as I sat down beside him.

"Nice dress." He shot back harshly.

I looked away, awkwardly, knowing my outfit wouldn't come anywhere close to passing my brothers' already strict dress-code.

"This is Mrs. Hemmingsworth, she's from Child and Parent Services, and she's just going to have a look around. I ask that you all be on your most respectful behaviour." Ma introduced, "These are my sons, Bobby, Jackson, Jeremiah, and Angel, and this is my daughter Alex."

In turn, we each shook her hand and greeted her with an obviously forced "Nice to meet you."

Ma frowned, obviously disappointed in us, but didn't let it show for very long. "Why don't we start by showing you around the house?"

"That would be great." Mrs. Hemmingsworth answered.

As a group we headed over to the kitchen. Bobby stopped and grabbed onto me, spinning me around to look at him. "Go change!" He whispered.

"It's not my fault! Blame Jerry." I answered, trying to pull free of his grasp.

He opened his mouth to say something but before he had the chance Ma cleared her throat and Bobby immediately released me.

I turned to see the social worker staring at me; I made brief eye-contact before I looked away. From previous experience I was sure that nothing I could say would remedy what she was thinking, so I decided to leave it be instead of risking causing even more damage.

"Okay, maybe the dress wasn't the greatest idea after all." Jerry laughed once I was within whispering distance.

"You think?" I shot back.

We took turns playing tour guide to show the social worker around, it was long and tedious and none of us cared enough. We had each spent our share of time in abusive homes, where we hardly saw a single social worker stop in to check up, but they were always so happy to come here anytime the chance arrived. Mrs. Hemmingsworth nodded along, pausing every few minutes to take notes.

We headed upstairs to show her our rooms, starting with Jack's. As we reached the door Jack hesitated coming to a complete stop before even reaching for the doorknob. Silence fell over us all, each unsure of what was going on. Finally Angel gave him a sort of "what is wrong with you look?" which seemed to push him into motion.

Jack opened his door to reveal his room in its usual disaster. His bed was unmade and clothes and loose papers lay strewn across the floor. His desk rested cluttered with guitar books and empty cigarette packages, and peeking out from under his bed at least one empty beer bottle could be seen. Protruding from a side pocket of his backpack was a small baggie containing an unspecified subject, but even though it hadn't been mentioned, we all had our suspicions. The majority of us were used to seeing his room this way, but I didn't want to think about what Mrs. Hemmingsworth was thinking.

I turned to Jack, "Well done." I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Hey, at least I don't look like I belong in a cat-house!" He snapped back.

I glared at him. "You do, actually. But for a different reason."

He turned and hit me, obviously without thinking. As soon as his hand made contact we both froze, refusing to see the reaction to our fooling around.

Ma cleared her throat. It was obvious that she didn't know what to say.

Jack and I both looked down, lost for words. In my peripheral vision I could see Bobby role his eyes. After a moment of silence we continued the tour. When it was finally over we all headed back downstairs.

"Is there anything else we can do for you?" Ma asked. She sounded friendly, but I knew she was just about as anxious as the rest of us for this meeting to be over.

"Actually yes." She flipped through the stack of paper in her clipboard. "Can I speak to Jackson and Alexandria, each alone please?"

**Sorry this is so short, and not very good, I'm trying to get myself back into it. I will try to have a more exciting one up very soon! Thanks for the continued support and don't forget to review!**

**Ducttapeladybugsandboredom**


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